Letter From the Heartland
by BoysNBooksRBetter
Summary: Edward is a movie star struggling with his fame. Bella is a Midwestern girl and busy college student. The two strike up an unlikely friendship after E receives a fan letter from B that forces him to confront his Hollywood demons. The friendship gets complicated when phone calls are no longer enough for the actor and romantic feelings start to become real. E&BPOV AU Work In Progress
1. Zero Gravity Premiere

**A/N: Hello readers! I am currently working on three stories right now and can't seem to focus on just one. Letter From the Heartland has 10 chapters completed. Notes on His Pillow has 20 chapters completed. Deviant Minds has 2 chapters completed. If you have followed my stories in the past you'll probably remember two things about me. 1) I hate posting a story before it is completed and 2) My writing is frequently stifled by pregnancy!**

**Well, you guessed it, I am prego again! Baby is due in a few months so I am flummoxed what to do with these stories. They are all different and enjoyable to write. I thought I would post a chapter or two of each and let you all decide which one I focus on. **

**So please leave me a review for the stories you read and I'll decide from the feedback which one is the winner. Again, the titles are: Letter From the Heartland, Notes on His Pillow, and Deviant Minds**

**Thanks! **

**-Books**

* * *

><p><strong>A Letter From the Heartland<strong>

Chapter 1 Zero Gravity Premiere

Edward stumbled through the heavy oak doors of his house in Beverly Hills and waved to his limo driver just to prove that he was indeed capable of unlocking the door on his own. He was so tired of people opening soda cans for him and constantly asking him if he was alright every time he coughed or sighed too loudly. He hated being babied and the constant attention Edward had been receiving for the past year was wearing on his psyche. His driver, Stanley, had had his doubts about Edward's ability to care for himself that evening. He'd watched Edward approach the black limousine in the back alley behind the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel hours earlier. He knew that night was the premier of Edward's new movie and he would undoubtedly be partying hard. But Stanley had never seen his boss that bad off before.

Edward had been slurring his words and stumbling towards the limo with a mob of paparazzi cameras flashing in his face the whole way. He only had to walk ten feet from the back door of the hotel to Stanley's limo but even that short distance proved too much for the young actor. Stanley had bolted from his seat behind the wheel just in time to catch Edward before he fell face first into the pavement. Those damn cameramen were so concerned about getting a decent shot of Edward Cullen than not one hand extended to help stop him from tasting the concrete.

Stanley had to drive around Los Angeles for over an hour until he was certain that not a single car was still following them. After having been Edward's driver for six months he was now very familiar with the makes and models of the cars belonging to the most persistent members of the paparazzi. Meanwhile Edward was lying in the back muttering something about his agent being a money hungry bitch. He looked like he would be sick any moment and Stanley hoped beyond hope that he could get Edward back to his home in Beverly Hills before the hors d'oeuvre's from the very upscale _Zero Gravity_ after party were spewed all over his limo's leather interior.

Thanks to Stanley, Edward arrived home unnoticed by the media or even his neighbors. A little after three am Edward finally shuffled his feet across the marble floor of his foyer and into the large empty kitchen. The cabinets were made from the finest wood and the appliances all top of the line stainless steel but that hadn't impressed Edward when he selected this house. He always thought the kitchen was too large and felt cold. He chose the house because of the gated community around which it sat; not because of its bells and whistles, although it did have quite a few of those. Edward proceeded to vomit in the deep basin sink and afterward ran the water for a good minute to make sure there would be no evidence when Lupe came to the house Monday. His housekeeper had enough work to do each day cleaning up after the twenty three year old bachelor; she didn't need to wipe up his sick too.

Edward felt better after purging his stomach so he went to the fridge and pulled out a fresh beer. He realized he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol but couldn't think of a better way to ward off the demons inside his head. At the party tonight one of his costars had taken offense to his foul mood. Laurent was a French Canadian actor who'd played another astronaut in the sure to be blockbuster hit, _Zero Gravity_. He had told Edward that tonight was a celebration of their accomplishment and he needed to loosen up. Laurent had handed Edward drink after drink until he was able to forget all about the film they just watched.

Edward had hated the script the moment he read it and hated the whole project more and more as filming got underway. He had to wear a moon suit twelve hours a day for three months shouting things like "She's coming in too steep!" and "We'll never get out of this alive!" in front of a green screen. It was torturous from beginning to end. He knew while they were making the movie that the final product would be an offense to the film industry, but he had made promises and signed contracts. His agent told him it would make his career and the money was more than he'd ever dreamed of making his entire life. To earn that much from a single role was like winning the lottery. It was a prize he couldn't bring himself to pass up.

Edward took his beer into the living room and slumped unceremoniously to the couch. He noticed Lupe had left his mail on the coffee table so with shaky hands Edward began leafing through it. There were two sorted piles, one being a collection of bills. His phone bill alone was over a thousand dollars a month. When Edward signed on to portray Travis Tague in _Zero Gravity _he celebrated by buying a lot of things he couldn't even recall now. The Smart TV was one, a lot of electronics probably, and a fully equipped SUV. Everything else he'd already forgotten about. He had no clue what was included in that Verizon bill but it was of little concern to him. Hank, his financial adviser, handled all that. He took another swig of beer and carefully placed the brown bottle on the table.

The second pile of mail was more to Edward's liking; they were letters from his fans. Edward enjoyed reading his fan mail. The envelopes were always different shapes and sizes, some had drawings or pictures taped to the outside designed to catch his attention, others smelled like perfume. A few months ago he made an effort to reply to as many as he could. Now there were so many letters that he'd be lucky to even open half of them. Edward's fans made him hate his new life a little less. Sometimes they were all that kept him from disappearing back to the small town in Wisconsin he still considered home.

Reaching for the beer bottle for one last swig, Edward clumsily knocked it over spilling the amber liquid all over his mail. Many fan letters were soaked beyond saving and a number of bills were ruined too. Edward cursed out loud and threw the wet envelopes onto the travertine tiled floor beneath his feet. As he looked upon the mess he made, Edward remembered the little white pill Laurent had given him at the party.

He made the mistake of trying to explain to his costar just why he was feeling so down that night. _Zero Gravity_ was even worse on the big screen that it had been while in production. Edward was always uncomfortable watching himself on screen so the entire premier itself was arduous. He began telling Laurent that fame and fortune weren't turning out to be everything he'd imagined. When he asked Laurent if he believed in karma his costar and occasional friend rolled his eyes and pushed him into a dark corner.

"Stop talking about shit like that, Cullen," Laurent whispered. "Stop over thinking everything and just enjoy it, will you?"

Laurent had slipped a clear plastic baggie into Edward's hand containing the pill. It came with a promise of mellowing out and having a good time. Edward had to admit that sounded tempting, but he'd never indulged in any drug stronger than a little weed. He slipped the pill into his pocket and thanked Laurent.

Home and all alone in the dark empty mansion Edward once again considered swallowing the tiny poison. He hadn't even asked Laurent what it was called, but there wasn't any possibility that he'd given him something beneficial like a dietary supplement. Edward looked around the living room, deciding what to do. He wondered if his life had really come to this; doing mystery drugs alone in a house ten sizes too big for one person. His mind was cloudy from the alcohol but he wasn't stupid. He'd graduated from the D.A.R.E. program in middle school. Edward scoffed at the direction his thoughts had taken. His memories, school, home, his family; all that seemed like another lifetime. He didn't want to take drugs. He wanted to be happy again.

He thought about calling his mother, she always made him feel loved. But it was three thirty in the morning and he was drunk. A middle of the night phone call to Wisconsin would only worry his mother to death. She'd be able to sense the pain and desperation in his voice and undoubtedly start to cry. Esme Cullen had been the first person to tell Edward to follow his dreams, but the last to support his decision to move to Los Angeles. She worried about her youngest baby surviving the culture of Hollywood. Edward was beginning to think she was right.

He soon realized there was no one else to talk to. Lupe was off Sundays; he wouldn't see her again until sometime Monday morning. His housekeeper had become his closest friend, or at least the person who knew him best. The thought depressed him. His friends in Hollywood were untrustworthy. Most of the guys only hung out with him because of the attention it awarded them or special perks from restaurants and clubs that came with Edward's level of fame. The women he met only wanted him to take them to bed, and his friends back home in Wisconsin acted strangely around him now. He couldn't bare his soul to his brother, Emmett, because he was jealous of Edward's fame. Emmett thought Edward didn't appreciate his great luck and success. He would have no sympathy for him, and instead would demand to know why he hadn't been invited to the movie premier.

Eventually Edward made the decision that he wouldn't be reduced to Laurent's idea of a good time, but he also didn't throw the little white pill away. Instead, he tucked it deep inside the drawer of the coffee table underneath a Men's Health magazine and a recent issue of GQ in which Edward was featured on the cover. Someone had penned a large handlebar mustache across Edward's face on the magazine's cover. It was probably one of his so called _friends _trying to be humorous. Edward kept the defaced magazine because he felt the image was a metaphor for what he had become. He felt like he was always in disguise, parading about like a fun sexy superstar, when in reality he was really just a small town Wisconsin boy hiding behind designer jeans, bleached white teeth, and a lot of hair gel.

Edward let out a long sad sigh as he retrieved a hand towel from the kitchen to mop up the remainder of the beer on the table. The after effects of the alcohol were beginning to make him drowsy. He would have a hangover in the morning for certain. As he contemplated what to do next, a canary yellow envelope sticking out from between two white ones caught his attention. Knowing he needed to sober up somehow, he reached for the letter and took it upstairs to his bedroom along with a glass of water and his cell phone. Edward stripped down to his boxer briefs and crawled in between the clean white sheets. God bless Lupe for doing his laundry.

Sitting back against the headboard Edward opened the colorful envelope and was surprised at what he found inside. The woman's name was Isabella Swan. She began her letter by scolding the A-lister; which was highly uncharacteristic of typical fan mail. He was immediately intrigued.

_Dear Edward,_

_As a fan who's been following your career since the beginning I must say I've been troubled lately by what I've seen in the news about you. I know better than to believe most gossip but there are pictures to corroborate the stories about your late night antics. Your face has graced the tabloids more in the last two months than ever before. Partying every night? Public drunkenness? And don't get me started on your tweeting! You've always been different, Edward. A polite, respectful young man transplanted to Hollywood from a quiet town in Wisconsin. You've been a bright shining star in an otherwise shallow and morally inept Hollywood populace. Is that sweet, camera shy man still in there somewhere? I hope so. _

_I loved your last film and think you have amazing talent. I'm sure you hear that often enough. But what I've seen in your eyes during the last few interviews for Zero Gravity have me wondering what's changed in you. You confessed on the Today Show that living in the limelight can be surprisingly lonely. I want to make sure you know that there are people all over this world who care very much for you._

_I'm sure you have other people to turn to when you're feeling down but I wanted to offer you just one more. My name is Isabella Swan, but I go by Bella. I'm 25, working towards a Bachelor's degree in biology. I work in a research lab during the day and babysit my nieces most nights. I'm not married, but someday I'd like to be. I live with my mother and father in Amarillo, Texas. _

_I wanted to tell you to please take care of yourself. Don't choose to go down the same dark path that so many talented young actors have done before you. I look forward to watching your promising career continue for years to come. Your fans love you, myself included, and we all want you to find happiness. _

_My phone number is 806-555-8779 if you'd ever want to talk to a regular girl from America's heartland._

_Be Safe._

_Yours,_

_Bella Swan_

Edward read the letter twice more and by the end of the third time he was sober. He'd never been called out on his behavior by a fan before. This Isabella Swan person had him pegged. She could see the destructive path he was on better than anyone standing in front of him. Lupe and Stanley were too concerned with their own job security to overstep their bounds with their boss and rightly so. Housekeepers and limo drivers were routinely fired for much lesser offenses in that town. Edward's agent had commented to him about the partying, but she admitted that any publicity was good for his career so she wasn't about to interfere with his behavior. And his friends, well they were the instigators ninety percent of the time. There was no one looking out for Edward, really. Except Miss Isabella Swan from Amarillo, Texas.

He felt lost, alone, and worst yet sorry for himself. Emmett was right when he reminded Edward of how lucky he was to have such a charmed life. And now he was on the verge of throwing it all away. Edward felt sickened by his own self pity, wanting nothing more than to fall into a dead sleep and not awake for days. He was disgusted by the way he behaved at the _Zero Gravity_ after party. No doubt Bella Swan will feel likewise when she reads about his drunken stupor on TMZ tomorrow.

Edward chugged the glass of water and lay on his side clutching Isabella's note to his chest. Disgusted with himself, Edward Cullen sobbed like a baby. Eventually his tears ran dry and Edward passed out in the middle of his king sized bed.

When he awoke Edward felt even worse than the night before. His head was pounding, he could smell stale beer and cigarette smoke on his breath, and he felt humiliated for having cried himself to sleep like a child. It was eight am and he'd been out for just short of four hours. He realized he was hungrier than he'd ever been, which only reminded him of how he'd tossed up everything he'd eaten the night before.

Lupe usually cooked extra food for him during the week and left Tupperware containers filled with nutritional meals in the refrigerator. Edward traipsed down to the kitchen in nothing but his boxer briefs in search of some of Lupe's finest. He ate sirloin tips and mashed potatoes over the sink, took a long hot shower, and then fell back into his bed.

When Edward wasn't actively filming a movie it was typical practice for him to go out to clubs partying into the wee hours and then sleep away the next day. His days and nights had been inverted for over a month now. He saw no reason to attempt correcting that pattern in his current state so he opted to cover himself with the high thread count sheets and slip back into a mercifully unconscious state.

Edward finally roused again around five in the afternoon. He rolled from his stomach to his back in order to stretch and in the process heard the crinkling noise of paper beneath him. Bella Swan's canary yellow letter was creased many times over but still intact despite Edward's restless slumber. He sat up and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to remember the last twenty four hours.

The _Zero Gravity_ premiere had been last night, Edward remembered. Young girls and mature women had screamed as he walked the red carpet alone, a thousand flashbulbs blinding him the entire way. Laurent sat next to him in the theater as that atrocious movie played on the silver screen for the first time. There was an after party. Definitely an open bar. And a little white pill. Edward shook his head, disappointed in himself for having even considered taking some unknown drug that a friend had given him. He'd acted like a fool in front of the paparazzi once again. His agent would not be happy.

Edward reached across the nightstand to retrieve his cell phone and checked his messages. One missed call. It was not from his mother, father, brother, or even Laurent. It was from Melissa. Edward listened to the message his agent left and then dropped the phone in his lap. She wasn't mad at him for getting wasted at the party. She didn't even care the paparazzi caught him falling into Stanley's arms before escaping into the limo. In fact, Melissa was pleased.

_Edward, darling. I sent you an email with links to a number of articles written on Zero Gravity's premier. Everyone's raving this morning about how glamorous all the stars looked, and every one mentioned just how sexy Travis Tague looked in his black Armani. I told you that suit was made for you. Anyway, I'm sure your sleeping off the after party. Yes, I saw the pics of you leaving! Don't worry about them, the press seems to think you're a very sexy drunk. I'm sending you over some new scripts to read through this week. I really think you'll like the one about the race car driver who falls in love with his best friend's sister. Call me once you've read them all. Bye bye, darling._

He didn't know why exactly, but Edward always thought how his agent reminded him of Cruella de Vil over the phone. The last thing Edward wanted to do was pick his next film. That would take careful consideration and a much clearer head than he currently possessed. He just couldn't make another movie like _Zero Gravity_. The next one needed to have... substance. Thinking that maybe a little more sleep might be in order, Edward's hand brushed over the letter from Bella Swan again. He picked it up and decided to read it one more time.

He felt oddly guilty for letting this seemingly genuine young woman down. A lot of his fans looked up to him as a role model; Edward knew this well. It pissed him off that a stranger who lived halfway across the country had the nerve to presume she knew anything at all about his life or how he felt about anything. Miss Swan was correct in one observation though. Edward was lonely, and growing more so by the day.

It was dinnertime in Wisconsin and Edward thought a call to his mother was in order. He was sober now and figured he could fake excitement over his new film for a ten minute call with the woman who loved him most in the world. The phone rang four times and then the voice mail picked up. Carlisle and Esme Cullen were probably the last household in America with a land line as their primary telephone. They did in fact own a cellular phone but it was kept in the glove box of the car for road emergencies.

Edward left his parents a brief message recounting the good moments he experienced at the movie premier and assured them that he was well. Once again Edward reminded his mother and father they were welcome to visit him out in California, all the while knowing they would never accept the invitation. Carlisle feared flying on airplanes and Esme feared all of Los Angeles. He ended his message by telling them that he loved them both, and told Esme to send his love to Rocky, the family's ten year old husky.

Edward felt disappointed that his mother had not answered the phone. He wasn't afraid to admit to himself that he needed to hear her voice. He wondered where they could be at six o'clock on a Sunday evening. Edward could picture his mother setting the dining room table while pots boiled on the stove and the most wonderful smells wafted out of the oven. Edward missed his mother's cooking something awful. No amounts of Carl's Jr. or In & Out could ever fill that void. Edward's stomach was desperately homesick for Esme's stuffed cornish hens among a number of other dishes he grew up enjoying.

Just about every part of Edward felt homesick. He looked at his phone and then at the canary yellow fan mail that he was fast becoming obsessed with. Edward read over the woman's description of herself one more time. _I'm 25, working towards a Bachelor's degree in biology. I work in a research lab during the day and babysit my nieces most nights. I'm not married, but someday I'd like to be. I live with my mother and father in Amarillo, Texas. _

Edward smirked recalling how this young woman gave him her phone number in case he wanted to "talk." Edward got letters with phone numbers quite often. At least this one wasn't accompanied by a pair of risqué underwear. He spent a few minutes toying with the idea of calling this woman named Bella. What would this girl do, if in fact her celebrity crush actually took her up on the offer to speak about his problems? She was a biology major, not psychology so he wasn't worried about her trying to analyze him. Edward chuckled to himself thinking that the girl would probably shit herself when she realized who was calling.

He was sad and alone and wanted to talk to someone who'd listen. Briefly, he considered calling Melissa but then quickly dismissed the idea. The next name to come to mind was Laurent. Edward remembered the little white pill hidden downstairs in his coffee table and part of him wanted it. He realized he was in trouble. He should have flushed the damn thing down the toilet the night before. Now, with the absence of any warm body nearby to comfort him, Edward once again considered ingesting the mystery prescription Laurent had promised would make him forget his troubles. It was very tempting.

Edward was so perturbed about the direction of his thoughts that his fingers immediately started dialing Bella Swan's number. A rush of nerves flowed through his body and he ended the call. He entered the ten digit number and stared at the screen for at least a minute before finally saying, "Fuck it," out loud and connecting the call. Edward Cullen had never been nervous about calling a girl in his life. This one should be no different.

The phone in Amarillo Texas sat on Bella's kitchen counter charging while it rang over and over. Edward was beginning to worry that this call might also go to voice mail. If he didn't talk to another human being soon he was going to lose his mind. He felt like he was the only person left on the planet. Just as he was about to lose his nerve and hang up the call connected.

A sweet timid voice filled Edward's eardrum as Isabella Swan greeted her unknown caller. "Hello?"

Edward cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, hello. Is this Isabella Swan?"

"Yes it is she. Who is this?" she asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Bella had rushed to answer the phone for what she was beginning to suspect was a telemarketer. The caller ID showed the caller's number was blocked.

"This is Edward Cullen. Am I calling you at a bad time?"

Bella laughed into the phone. "Nice try, Jake. Are you calling to talk to Mom?"

"Um, no. This is Edward Cullen. I am calling to speak with Isabella Swan," Edward politely explained a second time. This sort of misunderstanding happened frequently. It was the primary reason Edward allowed Hank to make most of his personal calls on his behalf.

"Knock it off, Jacob. You're being cruel. I don't call you and pretend to be Selena Gomes."

"I met Selena at a charity function in New York last year. She's a very nice girl," Edward replied hoping he hadn't made a huge mistake by calling this woman. He wasn't sure how he had expected their conversation to go but so far they were off to a bad start.

"Okay. You don't sound like Jacob anymore. Who is this, really," Bella demanded.

Edward sighed under his breath. "My name is Edward Cullen and I'm an actor. I received a letter written on very bright yellow stationary from someone named Bella in Amarillo, Texas. Was that you? I'm sorry to call out of the blue like this but you did give me your phone number with the offer to call anytime."

There was silence on the other end of the line and Edward knew Bella finally understood what was happening. Or she had hung up.

"Bella? Are you still there?" he asked warily.

The color in Bella's face changed from a pale pink to ghostly white as the identity of the caller finally hit her like a ton of bricks coming down on her head. She couldn't believe she ever mistook _his_ voice for that of her younger brother. As his words echoed in her mind she realized how familiar the voice sounded. It was familiar, yet not what she expected. Of course, Bella never believed the actor would ever actually call her. She'd often wondered if he would even read her letters at all.

Bella quickly realized she hadn't answered his last question. She sprinted through the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom, shutting and locking the door swiftly. She pressed her free hand over her heart and felt it beating wildly in her chest.

"I'm here," she replied as calmly as she could manage.

Edward smiled, happy that she was still on the line. Her voice pleased him. He wondered if Isabella Swan was as sweet and innocent as her voice made her seem. For the first time he also wondered what she looked like. He was surprised the details of her appearance hadn't crossed his mind until that very moment.

"Thank you for not hanging up. And please forgive me for calling you on a Sunday evening. I hope I didn't interrupt something important."

"Not at all. I was watching last week's episode of _Walking Dead_ but it's on the DVR." Bella struggled to keep her voice even as she spoke so as not to come across as a giddy, infatuated fan girl. Those adjectives described her to a tee but she didn't want _him_ to know that.

"I've never seen that show. Is it good?"

"You've never seen _Walking Dead_? The show is amazing and number one on cable by the way. What shows do you like?"

"I like _Homeland_. And I've been watching _Lost_ recently."

Bella chuckled despite her best efforts to the contrary. "_Lost_? Edward, come on. That show ended years ago. Where have you been?" She gently smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead. She felt like such an idiot.

"Give me a break. I was thirteen when it first aired. I don't know, I just never watched it," he replied playfully.

Bella didn't understand why she was talking about television programs with Edward freaking Cullen but she wanted to keep him on the phone as long as possible. Her best friend, Jessica, was never going to believe this story.

"Your voice sounds different on the phone than it does in the movies," she commented.

"I can assure you everything about me is different than the roles I portray in the movies."

"I didn't mean it like that; I'm not under the delusion that those fictional characters are you and you are them. I meant you're usually more upbeat in television interviews and things like that. Right now you sound sad, defeated almost."

"Yes, well, that is the reason you invited me to call you..."

"Oh, of course. What did you want to talk about, Edward?"

He ignored her very direct question. "You were right; what you said in your letter. I haven't been happy lately and I just wanted someone to talk to. Someone outside L.A."

Bella was still nervous, intimidated, and more than a little confused as to what Edward had to gain by contacting her of all people. He said he needed to talk. She had offered to talk through whatever problem was bothering him. She'd noticed his drinking and partying and accused him of being lonely in a letter disguised as fan mail. Bella was surprised he hadn't lashed out at her disrespectful accusations and used her letter as kindling.

But he didn't. He called her for help, and now she was engaging in the most awkward conversation of her life. She began pacing back and forth in her bedroom as she talked with Edward Cullen, the man voted Sexiest Man Alive by _People Magazine_ last year.

"So..." she began with butterflies feasting on her stomach cavity. "_Zero Gravity's_ L.A. premier was last night. I've already seen red carpet pictures and one of your interviews. How was it?"

"I'll tell you about it later. First I'd like to know more about _you_, if that's okay."

Bella kept thinking at any moment he might decide to end the call so she liked his promise that there would be a later. "Oh, sure. You want to feel confident I'm not a psycho, right? I get it."

"Please don't misunderstand. I mean I feel like you already know a lot about me. I want to feel the same about you."

"I told you about myself in my letters." Bella said matter of factly. The embarrassment was only beginning to hit her. What had she written to him? It was difficult for her to remember.

"How many were there?" he asked surprised.

"Four in the last year. Which ones did your read?"

There had definitely been four letters, of that much Bella was certain. Three were sent many months ago when Edward's first big movie had made him a bonafied celebrity. The most recent letter Bella knew by heart. It took her at least ten drafts to get her feelings out on paper in a way that satisfied her.

"Just the yellow one."

"They were all yellow," she said quickly.

"The letter I have here in my hand calls me out on my abhorrent behavior recently. No one's ever done that by the way. You said I was lonely. I don't understand how you knew that about me. How you _know me_. All I know about you in that you're 25, you live in Texas with your parents, and you think my phone voice sounds like Jake."

Bella giggled. "Okay then, what else do you want to know?"

"Let's start with 'who's Jake?'"

"Jake is my twenty year old brother. I swear he was born to make my life a living hell."

Edward smiled. He had one of those brothers too. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, for starters he's my half brother. My mother cheated on my dad when I was four years old and the affair ended with her getting pregnant. I don't remember what happened since I was so young but from what I've been told my mother confessed the whole thing to my father and he decided to forgive her. They are still married and he's always raised Jacob as his own son. I'm lucky my parents' marriage survived considering Jake is sort of a walking reminder of her infidelity. His biological father was Native American and so Jake's skin is darker than the rest of ours. Everyone who meets him assumes he was adopted. It often makes things awkward when we have to explain the truth, but Jake doesn't like it when I let people think he was adopted. We grew up together though, so he's just like anyone else's little brother. He's obnoxious, teases me every chance he gets, and he's a foot taller than me. To sum it up, he's a royal pain in my ass."

Edward laughed. "That's quite a story."

"Yes, well, I'm afraid to say that the drama only escalates from there," Bella said. "Jake got his high school girlfriend pregnant during their senior year. Her name was Leah. They found out after graduation that she was carrying twins and she completely freaked out. Jake convinced her to keep the babies and promised to raise them himself if she didn't want to. He never thought she'd take him up on that offer. Leah took off last year, leaving Jacob alone with Rachel and Rebecca. They're 18 months old now and I babysit them almost every night while he works to support them."

"So those are the nieces you mentioned in your letter," Edward said.

"Yes. I'm still surprised you read even one of my letters. You must get hundreds every month."

"Sometimes thousands. My housekeeper is good about sorting through the envelopes and making sure I see the ones that stand out. May I ask you why you chose such a blinding shade of yellow to write on?"

Bella smiled to herself, beginning to feel more comfortable chatting with Edward Cullen. She settled back on her double sized bed and rested her head against a pillow. "Yellow makes me happy. Also because of my hometown. Amarillo is the Spanish word for yellow."

At the same time Bella was making herself more comfortable in her bedroom in Texas, Edward was doing likewise in California. He shuffled down between the sheets in his bed and lay on his side, one hand propping up his head and the other holding his cell phone to his ear. He quickly decided that calling Isabella Swan was the best decision he'd made in weeks.

"So tell me more about you," he coaxed dropping the tone of his voice to a lower register.

"No way, I just told you a whopper. Now it's your turn."

Edward thought for a moment. There was so much he wanted to talk about but was still hesitant about revealing too much. Edward had learned the hard way to be careful who he trusted. "I didn't have a good time at the premiere last night."

"Why?" Bella asked with genuine concern in her voice. She had read on TMZ that Edward had attended the after party in Hollywood and left in a black limo, drunken and alone.

"It makes me very uncomfortable to watch myself on screen so premieres are always hard for me. My family wasn't there to support me. And I didn't even like the movie," he admitted. "I hadn't wanted to accept that role in the first place but my agent pressured me into it. She said my career needed a big budget flick like that to stay on course and I believed her. So I got drunk at the after party and made a fool of myself in front of colleagues and paparazzi alike. But in my defense the film truly is an abomination. I mean it, don't go see it."

Bella snickered. "Edward, of course I'm going to see it! I see all of your movies without fail. I've really been looking forward to its release."

"Have you seen the trailers? It's just another disaster movie, nothing new or special about it in any way," he argued. "What is there to look forward to?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked feeling embarrassed.

"Not to me."

Bella sighed. He was really going to make her say it out loud. "Well, you're the appeal for me honestly. The world ending story line might be kind of hokey but isn't there a decent love story too?"

"Yes, a minimal one. I'm in outer space most of the film," Edward replied rolling his eyes.

"The trailer showed you in a hotel room with Emma Watson. That shower scene alone will get thousands of women to buy a movie ticket."

Edward scoffed at her words. He knew what she said was true, but that didn't mean he understood his own sex appeal. Edward knew what he looked like first thing in the morning. He witnessed the burps, farts, and ball scratching that none of his fans ever saw. They looked at him and saw the movie magic; the airbrushed magazine spreads, and the carefully choreographed television interviews. Hair and makeup stylists were on standby for every scene of every movie he ever filmed. None of it was real.

"Are you saying you're willing to spend $12.50 on a movie that you know will be terrible simply because the trailer promises shower sex between me and Emma Watson?" Speaking of movie magic. Shower sex? Please. That shit's impossible, Edward thought to himself.

Bella laughed nervously. "Yes, absolutely. Oh my God, you have no idea how embarrassing it is to talk to you about this."

"Don't be embarrassed. It's not a big deal," he tried to assure her.

"Maybe to you! But while we're on the subject... Can I ask you an acting question?"

"Shoot."

"How do you do scenes like that; where you have to be practically naked in front of all those people on the set? I have no idea how you make a scene that must be so uncomfortable to film still look so sexy."

Edward hummed thoughtfully. "There was no passion shared between me and Emma. It's just part of the job. It is uncomfortable to be undressed in front of the crew, but I feel much more naked with you right now. Exposing myself to you this way is much more difficult that filming love scenes. I'm telling you secrets that no one else knows."

Bella paused for a beat, reveling in the way his sad, defeated voice gave her goose bumps as he said the words _naked with you_. She sensed the conversation had taken a more serious turn. "You mean secrets like how you're only now watching _Lost_?" she joked.

Her attempt at humor worked. Edward laughed out loud and it felt good. "I like talking to you, Bella Swan."

"I'm glad. I meant what I said in that letter. You've had me worried lately. Tell me what you're thinking when you act the way you did last night."

"You mean the drinking? Do you think I'm an alcoholic, Bella?"

"Do _you_ think you are?"

"Not yet," he whispered. "But I'm not happy and sometimes drinking makes me forget about that for a while. Last night I almost did something much worse."

Bella sat up in bed, afraid but determined to ask Edward to elaborate. "What did you almost do, Edward? Don't lie."

He liked the way she said his name; her tone was patient yet insistent. He liked that she demanded the truth from him. Edward imagined that Bella was not a faceless stranger, but perhaps an old family friend who'd known him forever and wasn't about to take any bullshit from him.

"Someone at the party gave me drugs. A pill. I didn't take it, but it's downstairs in my living room right now and I wrestled all night with the desire to take it. I want this pain to go away, even if just for a little while."

"Where are you sitting right now?" Bella asked.

"I'm lying in my bed."

Bella closed her eyes, promising herself there would be time to revist that mental image later. "Edward you called me for my help. And I'm going to do that. I want you to get up and walk down the stairs. Can you do that for me?"

Edward huffed. He was quite comfortable in his warm bed. But he stood up and followed his new friend's direction. "I'm in the foyer downstairs now."

"Good. Listen carefully. I want you to go get whatever it is that pusher gave you last night and carry it into the bathroom."

Edward knew what Bella was asking him to do. He'd considered the same solution the night before but lacked the courage to follow through. With Bella's stern guidance he was able to force his feet forward. He pulled the little white pill out of the coffee table's drawer and it felt hot in his hand all the way to the bathroom.

"Now what?" he asked Bella.

"Put it on the vanity and then look in the mirror, Edward. You see that man there? I need you to keep him safe for me. You have to take care of yourself, Edward. Not just for me but for every other person who cares about you as much as I do. Do it for your parents and your brother too. You deserve so much better than whatever that thing is sitting next to the sink. And I promise you right now that you don't need it. So I want you to pick it up and flush it down the toilet. Right now."

Edward thought to himself how Bella had a flare for the dramatic. He also decided that he liked her and wanted to talk to her again. "I can do that for you, Bella."

"No, Edward. You have to do it for _you_," she insisted. She heard the sound of a toilet flush and was finally able to let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Thank you, Bella," Edward said softly as he walked out of the bathroom and went to sit on the couch.

"You're very welcome. Is there anything else you need to tell me?" she asked cautiously.

Edward changed the subject, not ready to delve deeper into his demons yet. He had plenty more soul bearing to do but thought it better to save for future conversations. He hoped she would agree to allow him to call her again. "You're an enigma, Bella. I want to ask you more questions now."

"Proceed, if you must," she replied while faining annoyance.

Edward smiled, happy that she seemed more relaxed with him now than she was when he first called. "What's your favorite band?"

"Luke Bryan."

"Who's that?"

Bella giggled, not surprised by his response. "He's a country music artist. I'm from Texas, remember?"

"Are you telling me you're a cowgirl, Bella?" Edward asked dropping his voice again. It was the voice of Edward Cullen that she recognized from his films. Deep and sultry. Jessica called it a panty dropper.

"I've ridden a horse a time or two," she replied. Edward liked that visual. He suddenly wanted a clearer picture.

"Bella, would it be too forward of me to ask you to text me a picture of yourself? I want a face to go along with your lovely voice."

"You want me to send a selfie to _Edward Cullen_?"

"I'm just a guy named Edward, Bella. Please don't think of me as anything more than that. The Edward Cullen you speak so fondly of is nothing more than a figment of your imagination. Believe me."

"And this guy named Edward I've been getting to know is nothing more than a voice through my phone," she countered.

"Precisely. I can send you a picture of me too if you want," he offered.

Bella couldn't say no to that. "O-okay."

Edward smiled. "I won't take up any more of your time this evening, but I've really enjoyed talking to you and I'd like to do it again sometime. Would that be alright with you?"

"Yes," she breathed.

"Thank you, Bella. I'll call you again next Sunday night. Don't forget to text me that picture."

"You either, Guy Named Edward."

He chuckled into the phone. Bella closed her eyes and tried to memorize that sound for she wasn't at all convinced that Edward would ever dial her number again. Especially after he saw her plain face appear on his Smartphone.

"Have a pleasant evening, Bella."

"You too."

Bella hung up the phone and quickly ran a comb through her hair. She took off her glasses and applied a touch of makeup to her face before snapping her picture. She took several shots before getting an image she was willing to send him. The text with Edward's picture came through before she finished typing her own message. She noticed his phone number was included in the body of the message. Edward was stunning in his selfie, wearing a plain white t-shirt and a smile. What made her heart swell was the fact that next to his face Edward held up her yellow fan letter in his hand. Damning evidence that the conversation she just had was not a dream. Bella knew she would open that text message every time she needed proof that the last hour had been real.

Bella was now deeply concerned about Edward's well being. If the tabloid photos weren't enough to worry her then their conversation certainly did. She wanted nothing more than for Edward to follow through on his promise and call her again, if not for her own indulgence then for his comfort. Bella could sense how much Edward needed a loyal, supportive friend and she wanted to be that for him. Bella thought he was wrong about his negative self image. In that picture Edward was real, untouched by computer effects and lighting tricks. He looked natural and more handsome than she'd ever seen him before.

A few seconds later Edward received the message from Bella. He was excited and nervous to see the face of the woman who had such a profound impact on him. Even the short amount of time they spent conversing that night made Edward's heart and mind ache a little less. Edward knew he wanted to be friends with Bella Swan. He had never had a true friendship with a woman and he thought it was high time he gave it a try. Bella had already saved him once by convincing him to flush the little while pill. Edward understood how much he needed to talk to someone outside Los Angeles once in a while.

It didn't matter to him what she looked like; it might even be easier on him if she was unattractive, for Edward knew himself to be a bit of a flirt with women. Young and old, they all gravitated to him with very little effort on his part. Edward opened Bella's text message and quickly saw just how problematic being strictly platonic friends with her was going to be. Isabella Swan was downright beautiful.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Just a reminder that this story is a WORK IN PROGRESS! I have three stories with this status and I'd appreciate your comments to determine which one I should work on completing first. I promise that at some point all three will get completed!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Second Call

Chapter 2: The Second Call

The following Sunday night Bella made preparations for Edward's call. By 5:45 she was alone in her room with the door locked after telling her parents that she needed to study for an exam. Her cell phone charger was plugged in next to the bed and she had a bowl of fruit and a bottle of water on the night stand. The food was next to a small pad of paper with a list of possible conversation starters she'd jotted down over the course of the previous seven days. Bella hadn't stopped thinking about Edward Cullen since he called her last week and despite her best efforts there was still a huge doubt in her mind that her phone would actually ring at six o'clock as promised.

At 6:15 those doubts began to take purchase in her gut. Bella had worried all week that perhaps Edward had just been desperate last Sunday night and now that he was in a better place he'd have no further need for her. She'd really felt like she'd gotten through to him last week; convincing him to flush the drugs that were in his home. Bella was certain the connection she'd felt with him was mutual but she still feared that perhaps once he saw the photo she texted of herself he would think twice about calling her again.

By 6:30 Bella was an emotional mess. She changed into her most comfortable flannel pajamas and ate a few pieces of the chocolate she had stashed in her desk drawer. She knew it was a long shot that a Hollywood celebrity like Edward Cullen would enjoy talking with a country girl like her. But she thought they shared a moment or two during that first phone call that proved she was wrong. And now she was going over everything they had said to one another trying to pick apart the conversation and discover what it was that made him say he would call again and then not follow through.

Bella moaned into her hands, angry at herself for letting a guy make her act so crazy. She never took this kind of crap from any of the boys at school. If she gave her number out and the guy didn't call then he wasn't worth her time. She never thought twice about it. But Edward Cullen wasn't just some guy. It had taken every ounce of self control to refrain from telling Jessica about Edward when they saw each other on campus. Bella was bursting at the seams but for some reason couldn't bring herself to spill her guts to her best friend. She was mindful of why Edward called her in the first place and wanted to respect his privacy.

At five minutes to seven Bella became worried that something had happened to Edward. All week she'd been monitoring the entertainment websites she usually frequented to see if any new stories popped up about him but nothing bad had been reported. Could something terrible have happened to him? Maybe there were more pills in his house than he'd admitted to her...

When her phone rang Bella screamed. She'd been pacing back and forth and the sudden music blasting from her phone scared the living daylights out of her. To say Bella was a bit edgy was a gross understatement. The caller ID displayed a blocked number again, only this time Bella knew exactly who was calling. She took a deep breath before accepting the call.

"Hello?" she answered trying to sound casual.

"Hey, Bella. It's Edward," a deep voice said in her ear.

She had almost forgotten how incredibly sexy Edward Cullen's voice was. He was tardy, but the sound of his voice pushed that thought far from Bella's mind. He seemed better this week; his tone upbeat and that made her sigh with relief.

"Hey. It's good to hear from you again."

"Likewise. You sound a little different. Is everything okay over there is Texas?"

Bella twirled a loose strand of hair around her index finger. It was one of her nervous habits. "Yeah, I'm good. I wasn't sure you'd call again, but I'm glad you did." She continued pacing, her nerves too rattled to sit still just yet, and waited for him to speak.

"I spent all week thinking about the things you said to me. You have no idea what that call meant to me," Edward admitted.

Finally, Bella sank into the soft mattress on her bed and curled her legs up to her chest. His words were validation that she had in fact helped him. It was something she desperately needed to hear to make herself believe she was more than just the luckiest damn Edward Cullen fan in the world. Knowing that she'd talked him through a tough time and he valued her advice was important to her.

"So, are you feeling better?" she asked hesitantly.

She heard Edward sigh through the phone. "Yes, and I have _you_ to thank. I was in a bad place last weekend. I don't know what might have happened if it hadn't been for your blinding yellow letter and your kind words over the phone."

"Your welcome. I have to admit though; I wasn't sure how much help I'd really been. I might have checked TMZ a few times, or ten, to make sure you hadn't gotten into any more trouble."

Edward grimaced. He didn't enjoy feeling like a disappointment in her eyes. This poor woman probably felt like he was such a burden to her; having to talk a spoiled, self centered celebrity off the ledge the way she'd done.

"I had another rough couple of days since we spoke. I had to do a press junket for _Zero Gravity_ and go on a morning talk show. It's so hard to fake enthusiasm for this movie, but it's part of the job."

"Good Morning, America. I watched it. You were funny."

"I was?"

Bella giggled. "Yeah, you were. I always enjoy your interviews."

"You're biased, Miss Swan," he teased her.

Edward was in his kitchen warming up some of Lupe's leftover meatloaf. It wasn't as good as his mother's but after adding a little barbecue sauce to the top he could almost pretend the loaf had just been pulled from Esme Cullen's oven in Wisconsin. He took his plate over to the kitchen table and set it down next to a half empty bottle of beer.

"We'll see next Friday night how biased I am," Bella quipped.

Edward frowned and took a bite of food. It was hot and burned the top of his mouth. He was careful to only _think_ the F-word and not say it out loud for Bella to hear. He didn't want to add "vulgar mouth" to his growing list of character flaws. "What's next Friday?" he asked confused.

"Duh, _Zero Gravity_ is released nationwide. After you've trashed it left and right, if I still walk out of the theater thinking it was amazing then I must really be biased wherever you're concerned."

"Amazing? I assure you it will not measure up to _amazing_," he replied.

Beginning to feel more comfortable Bella lay back against her pillows and stretched her legs. She remembered how easy it had been talking to Edward Cullen the previous Sunday evening. All her pent up anxiety began melting away the longer they chatted. He had such a lovely voice, deep and soothing in her ear.

"That's my friend Jessica's favorite word. She thinks everything you do is simply _amazing_," Bella explained impersonating her best friend's tone of voice and her mannerisms by holding her hands up like she was drying her nail polish.

Edward hummed in understanding. "And what does this Jessica person think about you talking to me?"

"I didn't tell her about you. I didn't tell anyone actually, not even my mom."

"Come on, you had to of told someone. What about your brother, Jake?" Edward pressed. He couldn't believe this girl hadn't spilled the beans to a single person. Surely Bella would have mentioned it to one of her friends or perhaps a classmate at school.

"Not a soul. I swear."

"Why not?" he questioned glancing out the floor to ceiling window that looked out over his back yard.

"You called me last week for help. I guess I felt like telling people about it would betray your trust. You confided in me and I want to respect your privacy."

"Thank you Bella. I really appreciate your discretion. I know I never asked you to keep this a secret so I truly appreciate that."

"You're welcome," Bella replied sensing a serious tone in his voice. She chuckled to herself thinking about what her best friend's reaction would be to all this. "Besides, I did it to protect Jessica as much as to protect you. If I had dropped this bomb on her she would have probably fainted on the spot! And then upon waking up she'd then nag me day and night until I put her on the phone with you. It wouldn't have been pretty."

"Hmm, I see. Perhaps it would be best if you continued to keep our conversations a secret for now."

"Absolutely. I can keep a secret," Bella said assertively. She rather liked the idea of having Edward Cullen be her little secret. It felt more special and intimate that way.

Edward smiled as he stood to drop his empty dinner plate in the sink. He bypassed the bottles of water Lupe stocked in the fridge and grabbed another beer before wandering into the living room to sit on the sofa. "So what should we talk about now? You do want to keep talking to me, right? I suppose I shouldn't assume that you do."

"Of course I do. Why would you doubt that?" Bella questioned.

"I wasn't sure," Edward said scratching the back of his head with one hand. "You mentioned how your friend would faint if she heard about me but I noticed you didn't faint today or last Sunday. I don't want to be a nuisance."

Bella smiled to herself. She thought he sounded suspiciously disappointed that she hadn't keeled over at the sound of his voice. If only he knew how long she stayed up last Sunday night thinking about him! Her mind and heart had been racing until well after three in the morning.

"Trust me, I nearly did," she assured his fragile celebrity ego. "And I've been looking forward to hearing from you all week."

Edward was relieved. He worried that he was pestering this girl with his petty troubles. Regardless of her starry-eyed crush on him, Edward was aware how self centered he'd been the previous week. His own self loathing sickened him. He could only imagine what Bella must think of him now.

"I've been looking forward to this too," he said. "We mostly discussed my life last time, so tell me more about yourself. You're a biology major, right? What kind of research do you do at that lab you mentioned in your letter?"

It impressed Bella that Edward remembered such a mundane detail of her life. Little did she know Edward had that fan letter memorized; having read it at least twenty times in the last week. He also had Lupe scouring the house for Bella's other three previous letters that seemingly went unopened.

"Let's see, I'm doing an internship that's required for my degree. Right now we're studying the effects of a new Alzheimer's drug on mice."

"Are mice particularly forgetful?" Edward joked.

"Funny. No, we're evaluating the physical side effects. Elevated heart rates, blood pressure, skin reactions. Those sorts of things."

"It sounds like an interesting field you've chosen. You have how many years left?"

"I'm a junior. If all goes as planned I'll graduate in two years."

"Do you like it? College, I mean? I never went."

"I thought you did a year at a community college in Wisconsin before moving to L.A.?" she countered.

Edward was still caught off guard every time someone knew something personal about his life. He didn't understand why his fans found details like that worthy of remembering but they all did. One time Edward mentioned in an interview that he craved Captain Crunch cereal when he was hungover and the next week he must have received a hundred boxes in the mail from fans. Girls were strange creatures, that he knew, but fangirls? They were a whole other level of complicated. Edward idly wondered if Bella should be classified as a true fangirl or not.

"Yes, I did briefly attend a community college. My objective was only to appease my mother. I took three performing arts courses and a remedial math my first and only semester. Sometimes I think I should have made more of a commitment to college while I had the chance."

"What are you talking about? You have an amazing life. You've achieved lots of other goals! And it's never too late to go back, you know. Look at me. I'm twenty five and still chugging along."

Edward wanted to ask why she was a few years behind in her studies but thought it too rude to ask. He hoped perhaps she would mention it on her own at some point. He liked to think that their phone calls would continue long enough for him to discover many more little tidbits about her life.

"You live with your parents, right?" Edward asked.

"Yes. Saving money while I finish up with school. Jake pays me a few bucks to babysit his girls and I work at the research lab ten to fifteen hours a week. Sometimes living at home is a real bummer but I'd be crazy to give up rent-free housing and the hot meals."

"Is your mother a good cook?" Edward asked. His stomach rumbled despite the fact he had just eaten.

"She's the worst," Bella laughed. "My dad is awesome at it though. My mother's always been a little flighty so Charlie had to learn to cook a few years ago when her yogalaties class clashed with dinner time. Thank goodness he did or Jake and I would have starved to death. It became a hobby for him though; he made a pineapple upside down cake this afternoon just for fun."

"That sounds really good. I miss my mother's cooking more than anything else about being away from home." He momentarily contemplated hopping the next flight to Wisconsin so he could have one of Esme Cullen's hot meals. Absentmindedly, he placed his hand over his stomach but dismissed the idea of going home. If he didn't have an all day press junket the following day he might just have taken the red eye that night.

"Do you feel homesick a lot?" Bella asked wondering if that might be a contributing factor to his recent troubles.

"I haven't seen my parents in five months. And I don't have plans to go home until Christmas. My brother came to visit me over the summer but it was weird having him here. I was busy with reshoots and I had a few meetings to go to about possible films. Emmett spent most of the time sightseeing on his own."

"How old is your brother? I know he's older than you, right?"

"Yeah, Emmett turned twenty five in May. I took him to Chateau Marmont while he was visiting L.A. That was a huge mistake."

Bella frowned. "Why?"

"He got completely trashed and hit on Demi Levato," Edward replied chuckling. "We got into a fight the next day about his behavior. I told him he had to stop acting like such a tourist if he wanted me to take him around any more famous people. He accused me of being an elitist; said I changed and he hardly recognized me anymore. I've only talked to him a handful of times since then. It's hard being so far away, the dynamics of our relationship have changed so much."

"Oh, Edward. I'm sorry to hear that. I know my situation is completely different than being in Hollywood, but I can commiserate with you about being far from home. When I started college at eighteen I went out of state to the University of Alabama. It was so much fun at first being on my own. I had a cool roommate and we went to frat parties every weekend. I barely called home that first year, didn't really keep in touch with my parents, and only came home on holidays."

Edward was interested in Bella's experience in a real college and he felt like once again perhaps she knew how to comfort him. Yes, their experiences were much different, but she still understood how it felt to leave home at a young age. "Did you feel like you were floating on air, free at last from the small town you grew up in? I remember feeling like L.A. was so big and exciting when I first arrived."

"Yeah, UA made me feel that way too. It was like I was finally a grownup and didn't need my family to take care of me anymore. Moving away from home was about freedom and the excitement of exploring another part of the country. I think I pushed my parents away on purpose, to prove I could take care of myself."

"What changed then? I mean, you moved home again...," Edward questioned hoping he wasn't pushing too far into her personal life.

"What changed," she laughed without humor, "well my dad had a heart attack. I didn't even find out about it until the next day because it happened on a Saturday and I ignored my mother's calls until Sunday afternoon."

Edward was shocked to hear something so serious happened to Bella's father. He remembered she mentioned her father baking earlier that day so he was relieved to know that at least he recovered. "How bad was it?"

"It was a close call and he was in the hospital for a while. I left school with the intention of taking an incomplete in my classes if necessary, but my father was in much worse shape than my mother led me to believe over the phone. It took my dad a long time to get his strength back and Jake was young at the time, just fourteen when it happened." Bella sighed. She didn't like thinking about that time in her life when her father was so weak and helpless. She grew up thinking Charlie Swan was the most fearsome cop on the force. He fought the bad guys every day and always came home at night without a scratch on him. To see her father lying in a hospital bed with tubes in his nose shattered the false perception she had of him.

"I looked after Jacob while my mom sat with Dad in the hospital. I helped him with homework and took him to soccer practice. And when Dad was able to come home he needed help getting around. It was a slow recovery and I knew my mom needed my support. Spending that time at home after having been away for over a year made me rethink what was most important in life. Even after he went back to work I couldn't bring myself to leave home again."

"You're an amazing person, Bella."

Bella blushed and shook her head. "Any daughter would have done the same."

"That's not true at all. You helped me, a stranger you've never even met. And you put your own life on hold to help your family. I think you must be some kind of angel."

Bella chucked nervously, not at his bloated praise of her but at his use of the word stranger when he referenced himself. She knew that he was technically correct to think of them as strangers to one another but she certainly didn't feel that way about him. Bella glanced up at her lavender painted walls and studied the poster of Edward that hung on the wall opposite her bed. It had been there for over a year, ever since his first big movie came out and she began following his life and career with dedication. Edward Cullen was not a friend of Bella's or an acquaintance, but he surely wasn't a stranger either.

Bella knew the actor was born Edward Anthony Cullen on June 20th, 1990 in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended a Catholic boys school and she even had a photograph of him from the 7th grade that was published in _People_ magazine the year before. He had an older brother named Emmett, and his parents were Esme and Carlisle Cullen. Edward looked more like his father, Bella decided, after seeing them attend the New York City premier of _Love Spelled Backwards_.

She knew every detail of his film career. He became a household name with the success of _Love Spelled Backwards_ the year before and Bella went back and watched every movie Edward had ever appeared in prior to that no matter how small a role he played. After watching the audio commentary on _Love Spelled Backwards_ and countless interviews on You Tube she felt like she had a little insight into his sense of humor. It was dry and sarcastic, she thought. Bella also saw how nervous Edward seemed to be in his early interviews for some of his lesser known roles. She noticed how he'd grown more comfortable in front of the camera in the past two years and was now better equipped to handle a wide range of questions from journalists. So _strangers_? No, Bella didn't feel like Edward was a stranger to her at all.

"I'm no angel, I assure you," she replied humbly while still gazing upon Edward's face in the poster from _Love Spelled Backwards_ that hung on her bedroom wall. She suddenly felt silly for having it in her room.

"Well, you're certainly a better person than me. You make me think I should visit my parents sooner. Christmas is still two months away."

"Why don't you?"

"I'm still busy with press for _Zero Gravity_. I have to fly to London next week for the premiere over there. Not looking forward to that," Edward answered. He spoke the truth about his schedule, but knew deep down if he wanted to squeeze in a visit to Wisconsin he could find a way. He'd been using his demanding work schedule as an excuse for not going home for a long time. Edward feared that if hebsat in his mother's kitchen or watched football with his dad while feeling the way he did right now he might not be able to force himself back to L.A.

Edward loved being an actor, the California sunshine, and the money he was earning, but he hated the way his fame exploded following the success of _Love Spelled Backwards_. His agent had promised him starring in a movie geared towards teenage girls would be his ticket to stardom and Melissa certainly delivered. He couldn't even go to a convenience store without the paparazzi photographing him. The complete loss of personal freedom had been the most difficult pill for Edward to swallow. It made him feel claustrophobic; a prisoner in a 10,000 square foot mansion.

"Could your family come visit you instead? I'm sure you can afford to fly them out to California for a few days."

Edward grimaced. "That's not an option. My father is deathly afraid of flying, he gets panic attacks. And it's a 28 hour trip by car. Besides, I don't even want to think what my mother would have to say about Los Angeles."

"Why's that?"

"She worries about me being here without any family nearby. She doesn't think the culture is good for me."

"Gee, I can't imagine why," Bella replied sarcastically. Esme Cullen sounded like a smart woman. "What does she say about the drinking and partying you've been doing?"

Edward glanced down at the beer bottle in his hand, feeling guilty that he couldn't remember how many he'd drank so far that day. "Luckily Mom doesn't subscribe to the Edward Cullen Google Alert."

Bella laughed. "That's a relief! I get some really juicy tidbits that way."

"Do you now?" he teased. "What have you heard recently?"

"Oh, this could be fun," Bella said sitting up in bed, switching her phone from one ear to the other. "Tell me if any of this is true. You were photographed entering a movie studio a few weeks ago. Was that related to the next Judd Apatow movie?"

"Speculation. It was just a meeting with my agent about possible scripts. Nothing to do with Judd."

"Damn, I like his movies. What about the rumor that you were spotted hanging out with Justin Beiber?"

"Sorry, never even met him," Edward chuckled.

"Believe me, that doesn't disappoint me! It was just something that got reported on a fan blog. I thought of another good one. Ready?"

Edward smiled at her enthusiasm and was happy to go along with her questions. So many false claims were made about him daily that he was happy to set the record straight. He certainly didn't want her believing some of the more preposterous rumors like that he actually slept with the _Love Spelled Backwards_ director while filming as was widely reported before the film was released.

"Go for it," he said.

"There was a picture of a guy with a brunette woman sitting on his lap in the back corner booth at a night club maybe a month or so ago. The website claimed that it was you and a waitress and you were drunk and making out with her. A witness said the woman was seen struggling to get away but you held her down. Any truth to that one?" Bella asked biting her lip. She half expected Edward to get upset and refuse to answer such a personal question, but she was dying to know. Edward hadn't been linked romantically to any woman in months and the rumor mills were rampant with speculation about who in Hollywood has had the pleasure of warming his bed recently.

Edward cursed under his breath. Bella couldn't have asked him about the supposed affair with his married director? Or maybe inquired about mistreating crew members, punching his costar on set, or the tattoo he supposedly got on his ass? All of those stories were completely untrue. But the woman at the bar? That unfortunately was for the most part accurately reported. He cringed thinking about the photo that circulated the internet for weeks.

"Edward?" Bella repeated warily.

"It was me," he admitted ashamed of his behavior that night.

"Oh. You don't have to give me any more details. It's none of my business."

Edward shook his head and stood up in order to pace back and forth across his living room floor. He didn't want to keep any secrets from Bella, not only because he wanted to clear his conscience on the matter, but also because he felt like talking to her was the best soul cleanse he'd had in months. He wanted to keep nothing from her.

"She was a waitress at that club and I'd been flirting with her all night. I swear she was into it, you know, the making out part. She kept telling me she could get fired if her manager saw her in my lap like that but I was too drunk to care. I didn't understand why she was trying to wiggle off me when she did."

"Oh, Edward."

"I don't even know what happened to her when that picture came out," he whispered. "She probably did get fired. No one could prove for certain that the guy was me so I didn't care what happened to her."

"I'm sorry. I'm sure you don't want to be thinking about all this stuff."

Edward took a long pull from the bottle in his hand, realizing his head was beginning to feel a bit fuzzy. "Bella, can I ask you to promise me something?"

"Anything, Edward," she replied certain that he was going to ask her to keep the knowledge about the waitress to herself.

"I don't know exactly what's going on between us but I'd like to think we're becoming friends. Can you please promise me that we'll never lie to one another? About anything, no matter how big or small the lie? I can't handle one more friend who lies to me or tells me only what they think I want to hear."

Bella smiled and placed her hand over her heart. The sadness in Edward's voice nearly brought her to tears. His request was something that she could easily agree to. She reveled in the thought that she might have such an open and honest relationship with Edward. Fake friends were not a novelty of Hollywood, Bella knew. There were plenty of people like that in Amarillo too, and Bella wondered how hard it might be to keep her promise. Perhaps having a friendship that only existed over the phone would make it easier to always tell the truth.

"I promise, Edward. No, I swear to you that I'll never lie to you or sugar coat my opinions. But I need you to extend the same courtesy to me."

"Of course."

"Thank you," she whispered. Then there was silence on both ends of the phone. Glancing at the digital clock on her nightstand Bella saw that it was after eight o'clock. Had they really been talking for an hour? "So, what now, friend?" she asked nervously. She feared he might want to end their conversation for the night. Bella couldn't imagine waiting another week to speak to him some more.

Edward had stopped pacing and now stood by his back door looking out over the Hollywood Hills as the sun began to set. It was a beautiful sight and he wished he could share it with Bella. For the first time it occurred to him how completely inconvenient it was for her to be halfway across the country. What a stroke of bad luck it was for Edward to finally find someone he felt so comfortable with only to be separated from her by... Edward quickly Google Mapped Amarillo, Texas on his nearby iPad. Separated by over a thousand miles. He sighed.

"Could you answer some questions for me? Now that I know I'll get the truth I'm curious," he said.

It was Bella's turn to pace. She walked back and forth across the carpeted floor of her small childhood bedroom worrying about what Edward Cullen could possibly want to know about her simple little life. And she promised to tell the truth no matter what? Sheesh.

"I suppose that's only fair after I interrogated you. What would you like to know?" she replied cheekily.

Edward thought for a moment to sift through the dozens of questions he'd been hesitant to ask before now. "Do you think I'm a just an egotistical celebrity who doesn't know what having real problems is like?"

"I've never thought anything like that. Who said that to you?"

"My brother. He thinks I'm a spoiled rich kid because I live in a gated community and have a driver, a housekeeper, and a gardener. I know I wasn't in the best place mentally when we first talked last week. I guess I'm worried you think less of me now then when I was just a famous movie star on your TV."

"Edward, remember I'm telling you the truth now, okay? I am so much more enthralled by you today than I was two weeks ago. You have a good heart, I know that for certain. You might be a little lost and lonely right now but everyone feels that way sometimes. The real you fascinates me much more than that face on TV ever did," Bella assured him emphatically.

"Thank you for saying that," Edward sighed, wanting to change the subject off himself again. "I still want to know more about you. Tell me what you did this past week."

"Hmmm. Well, I went to classes Monday through Thursday. Friday I worked at the lab all day. I hung out with Jessica yesterday. She loves to shop so we went to the mall. She bought new shoes and I got myself a book. I babysat my nieces Tuesday and Wednesday night, that was fun. Today I spent a little time with my dad; supervised while he baked that pineapple upside down cake. I taste tested the final product a few times. Oh, I started reading the book I got at the mall. And then about an hour ago a really sweet, handsome, interesting man topped all of that by calling to talk to me."

Edward felt his cheeks fill with the slightest bit of color. That very rarely happened, but Bella's description of him made his whole body react in the strangest way. He felt something he couldn't quite describe. "Likewise, you've been the highlight of my week, Miss Swan."

Bella didn't want to read too much into that declaration. She decided to switch gears and bring the silent tension down a notch. "Do you watch sports?" Bella blurted out randomly.

"Um, yes. Packers fan," Edward replied. "You?"

"Cowboys. Jake and my dad really like baseball too so I suppose I could also be called a Rangers fan."

"I was raised to cheer for the Brewers, but I've been to a few Dodgers' games. Don't tell my father."

Bella smiled. "What's your favorite food?"

"Anything my mother cooks. What's the name of that book you bought?"

"_Wallbanger_. Do you like to read too?"

"_Wallbanger_? What the heck is that about?"

Bella picked up the paperback from her nightstand and skimmed over the back cover. "It's about a woman who has to deal with her noisy next door neighbor. He bangs their common wall when he, you know, has company over. Eventually they fall in love."

"Wall banger. You read smutty stories, Bella?" Edward asked his voice dropping slightly.

"It's a contemporary romance, for your information. My friend highly recommended it."

"Who? Jessica?"

"No, Jess isn't really the book type. I meant a friend online. You know, social networking."

Edward sighed quietly. "Oh, I'm not able to keep up with that kind of stuff anymore. My agent advised me to cancel my Facebook account before _Love Spelled Backwards_ came out."

"You might want to think about canceling your Twitter account too. I love reading your tweets but sometimes celebs can really embarrass themselves if they're not careful. Just saying."

"Have I embarrassed myself lately?"

"You get a little Twitter-happy when you're drunk. How do you think TMZ's been able to keep such close tabs on your recent partying? You tweet a picture of yourself with some guy or a pretty female fan and then where you were and who you were with becomes headline news the next morning on E!, TMZ, and the EVOL Facebook page."

"Evil Facebook?" Edward gasped. That sounded sinister; what was Bella doing on a site like that?

"EVOL, not Evil," Bella clarified rolling her eyes. "You've seriously never heard anyone refer to EVOL?"

"Not to my recollection. What is it?"

"It's short hand for _Love Spelled Backwards_. E-V-O-L. Get it? All your fans use it online."

"Oh, I see. That's very strange, Bella," Edward teased. "So do you spend a lot of time on this EVOL Facebook page?"

"I check it every few days just to see what people are talking about."

"Is that the truth? Come on, Bella. We promised never to lie, remember?"

"Fine," Bella huffed. "I check it every day, okay? I admit I'm obsessed with anything related to that movie! Happy now?"

Edward grinned to himself. "Very. I knew you were a fangirl, Bella. Don't be ashamed."

Oh, Edward Cullen. You will pay for that. "My turn to ask a question. You can't lie, remember. Are you dating anyone right now?"

"Why do you want to know?" Edward hedged wondering what has taken Bella so long to ask that question. It's usually the first thing fans and journalists alike want to know about him.

"Believe me, only to validate the information I get on Facebook," Bella joked lightly.

She didn't fool him. Edward noticed the flustered tone in her voice. "I haven't had a girlfriend since before EVOL," he answered simply.

Bella noted he skirted around her question by using the distinction of the word 'girlfriend' when he answered. She wondered if he did it intentionally, but was too amused by his adoption of his film's nickname to pay it much mind. She would file the information away for careful consideration later.

"Are you advised by your agent to tell reporters you're single even when you aren't so as not to disappoint your female fans?"

"Yes."

Bella bites her lip, wondering how many beautiful celebrities Edward must have dated in the past two years.

"My turn to ask you personal questions," he said filling the silence between them. "What are you wearing right now?"

Bella blushed furiously. Was Edward flirting with her? She couldn't decide. "Um, flannel pajamas and an over sized t-shirt that says Someone in Phoenix Loves Me."

Edward laughed heartily and it felt really good. "Who do you know in Phoenix?"

"My grandparents on my mom's side. My mom grew up there."

"I was worried maybe it was a boyfriend," Edward said.

"Worried? Why?"

Edward quickly recognized his slip of tongue. He didn't want to give Bella any false impressions of their friendship. Perhaps they were getting too personal with one another. "I just figured if you had a boyfriend he might not like you talking on the phone with me. I'd hate to ruffle his feathers."

"No worries there. I don't have a boyfriend."

"So, can I assume it's alright to call you again sometime?"

"Yes, of course," Bella replied smiling.

It would have to be a fine line Edward walked with this girl. He had been with a number of different women since moving to Los Angeles. Some were actresses, others were friends of his costars, and he even indulged in a few hookups with a fan now and then. But he never found anyone special; no one he truly connected with beyond physical pleasure. This relationship with Bella appealed to him because the geographical distance would safeguard him from making the same mistake he'd made so many times in the past. He literally _couldn't_ take Bella to bed and that allowed him to get to know her in other, more important ways. He could already tell Bella was the kind of special he was looking for. Bella was beautiful, smart, and caring. But he meant what he said to her about needing a friend he could trust to keep him grounded. For the first time, that was more important to Edward than a sexual conquest.

Edward respected Bella, his guardian angel. He wanted to continue getting to know her this way, the only way they were able. For now that would have to be enough. He wondered if she could ever see him as more than just a famous movie star; if she'd ever think of him as a friend first and celebrity second.

"I'll be leaving for London Thursday evening. I have a full day of interviews on Friday and then the premiere is Saturday night, which means I have to sit through the film one more time. And attend another after party."

"Should I worry about you at that party, Edward?"

"I don't think so. You've made a world of difference to me already."

"Have I? You've been slurring your words a little tonight."

Edward raised the bottle in his hand to eye level and saw just a few drops left inside. He hadn't thought Bella would have noticed and it made him angry with himself that she did. "I told you I've had a long week," he answered quietly.

"I know you have. Me too. I went to school, studied for a big exam, worked at the lab, and babysat my nieces twice. Do you know how much trouble two 18 month old babies can get into? You have to find another way of dealing with stress, Edward. I thought that was why you called me?"

"It's just a habit. I lost count how many beers I had, that's all."

"I don't want you to drink at all next Saturday. Promise me you won't drink or take any drugs," Bella demanded. "Please, Edward."

She didn't sound like she was kidding, Edward decided, as he deposited the empty bottle in the recycling bin in the kitchen. "I promise you, Bella." It wouldn't be an easy promise to make surrounded by the cast and crew of _Zero Gravity_. Laurent especially would have something to say about Edward drinking soda all evening. But for Bella he would do it; the thought of letting her down seemed unfathomable.

"Good. When will you call me again? When you get back to the States? Because I'll worry about you until then."

Edward smiled to himself. He liked thinking that Bella cared enough to be anxious while he was away. "I'll call you from my hotel Saturday night. Would that be alright? London is eight hours ahead of L.A. And you're two hours ahead of L.A. So if I get back to my room by three it'll only be nine o'clock in Texas."

"That's fine," Bella replied. She had plans to go to a club with Jessica but she could cancel this one time. It was important to her to be there for Edward when she knew he would be needing her the most. "And remember you can call me anytime you need to talk."

"Thanks, Bella."

"You're welcome. And just think, by next Saturday night I'll have seen _Zero Gravity_ too and we can trash it together if you want," she joked.

Edward chuckled, stretching his arms over his head. "Oh, my dearest, Bella. I am looking forward to that. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Edward."

After hanging up with Bella Edward planned to take a long hot shower and then fall immediately into bed for what he knew would be a long restful slumber, for the last night he spoke with her on the phone Edward slept better than he had in months.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm going to post every other week, but just a reminder that I only have 10 chapters completed! I'm working on Chap 11 as we speak and I vow to finish this story! Thanks for reading, don't forget to review. :-)**


	3. Opening Night and London Premiere

Chapter 3: Opening Night and London Premiere

On Friday night Bella found herself staring into Edward Cullen's hypnotic green eyes. It was quite a surprise to find him there at the local Amarillo movie theater where she and Jessica were meeting to see _Zero Gravity_. But there he was, his beautiful face staring back at her from within the life size cardboard cutout that stood before her in the lobby. Edward was wearing a moon suit and holding his space helmet in his hands. Bella studied the intense expression on his face and the way his bronze hair fell across his forehead. This image of Edward didn't jive at all with the man she'd gotten to know over the past two weeks. Jessica was in line buying popcorn so Bella waited there, unable to rid the feeling that this promotional prop was watching her just as intently. She wondered where Edward was at that very moment and hoped that he was safe.

It was opening night at the theater and the line to buy tickets was long; winding through the lobby and out the doors onto the street. Just about everyone was there to see Edward's newest movie and Bella could hear groups of people all around her discussing their expectations for the film. She was reminded of Edward's overwhelmingly negative opinion of _Zero Gravity_ and hoped he was wrong. She suspected he was his own toughest critic and the general populace would find the disaster flick much more entertaining.

When Bella and Jessica took their seats she realized how packed the room was. So many women surrounding her were talking about Edward and it made her feel slightly uneasy. More than ever she hoped the movie would meet their expectations. She didn't think she could tolerate listening to the people in that room speaking badly about the movie or Edward's performance.

Is that how Edward felt every time one his movies was released to the public? She wondered how he managed to walk the red carpet with so many people flashing cameras in his face and screaming his name. Bella could only imagine the pressure he must endure each time his performance was scrutinized by fans and movie critics all over the world. It must be a surreal experience. And he was about to go through it again in London the following day. She thought he'd sounded better during their second conversation but still not completely stable. Bella knew she would be a nervous wreck all day Saturday until he called her.

If only Jessica knew she had been speaking with the one and only Edward Cullen in recent days. She hadn't been exaggerating when she told Edward that her best friend would faint if she knew the truth. Jessica was equally passionate in her dedication to Edward's career as Bella, and equally infatuated with him. They often playfully argued over who _loved_ him more. Bella knew that it was just silly girl talk they engaged in and always thought it perfectly harmless until she answered that phone call two weeks ago. Now she felt somewhat ashamed for objectifying him the way they so often did.

"I am so fucking excited to see this movie!" Jessica exclaimed. "Doesn't it feel like we've been waiting forever?"

Bella nodded bringing her thoughts back to the present. "Yeah, EVOL was last December. So it's been ten months since we've seen Edward on the big screen."

Jessica moaned. "Did you watch the extended trailer? I should have brought a paper bag in my purse because I'm seriously going to hyperventilate during the sex scene."

"It's rated R, so hopefully it will be good," she replied.

"I read online that Edward had to get really ripped for this movie. Like, even more than EVOL. Oh! And during the shower scene they show Edward's ass crack. Maybe we'll get super lucky and he'll turn around just enough to get a glimpse of his..."

"Jesus, Jess." Bella rubbed her hand over her face and took a few calming breaths. Jess was talking really fast and she just needed a moment or two to get Edward's... manhood out of her mind.

"What's wrong?"

"I just don't think we should talk about him like he's a piece of meat."

"What? Of course we should! Who _are_ you are where did my Edward-obsessed best friend go?"

"I'm not obsessed," Bella argued.

"Give me a break, girl. I saw the way you were drooling over that cardboard cutout of him in the lobby. Don't be embarrassed. Everyone in this room is hot for Edward Cullen, right ladies?" Jessica asked loud enough for several rows of moviegoers in every direction to hear. Their mutual answers to her were a resounding "yes" combined with some giggling and a few cat calls.

_Animals_, Bella thought to herself. All of a sudden she felt nervous about watching Edward on screen. She was torn between the part of her that held a strong desire to join Jess in her ogling of Edward in the flesh and the other part of her that now considered him a friend. She remembered Edward telling her how difficult it was watching himself on camera. Would she have a similar problem now that she knew him? If their new friendship ruined Bella's ability to enjoy watching Edward's movies she was going to be really pissed. It was like someone telling her how many hundreds of calories were in her favorite food; it took all the fun out of eating it. There wasn't any time left to think as the lights dimmed and the first preview began playing on the massive theater screen.

At the same time Bella was watching _Zero Gravity_ in Amarillo, Edward was across the Atlantic Ocean lying in bed in his London hotel room staring at the ceiling. It had been a very long day but for some reason he couldn't sleep. The jet lag he was experiencing certainly contributed to his lack of slumber but also his mind was racing with thought of the previous thirty six hours.

He'd flown from Los Angeles to New York City Thursday evening to catch a connecting flight. Then he'd flown on to London arriving at the Heathrow airport at 1am L.A. time. Edward had slept a few hours during the second leg of the trip but it was a restless sleep. His body was still on L.A. time and had no chance to adjust as it was early Friday morning in England. He'd only had time for a quick meal and a shower before his press junket began in one of the hotel's conference halls.

His costars were already being interviewed by the reporters in the conference hall when he arrived. There were cameras and lighting set up in every corner, and someone approached Edward immediately, whisking him away to the hair and makeup station. The film's director came over to chat with him while he was getting camera ready. The next six hours were a blur as Edward spoke with a dozen different magazine and television journalists. Briefly the cast enjoyed a catered lunch together and then it was back to interviews.

Edward hated being asked the same questions over and over, each time attempting to say something meaningful and different than what he'd answered for the last guy. The only part of the day he enjoyed was meeting Mark and Lily, the two contest winners from a local radio station. Mark was 11 and Lily 14. They won the opportunity to meet Edward, Emma, and Laurent as well as ask them a question of their own that would be broadcast live on the radio. After their meet & greet Edward hugged Lily and she squealed when his arms wrapped around her shoulders. Mark attempted to remain composed when meeting Edward and the others but his nervousness showed on his face. Edward pretended not to notice Mark's shaking hand as he returned a promotional poster from the film with his signature on it.

Lying in the hotel room that night Edward tried to fall asleep. It was Saturday 3am local time and he had a team of people arriving around noon to get all the movie stars ready for the red carpet premiere that night. Edward wanted to blame the time difference for his inability to sleep but he knew better. His mind was thinking of Bella and what she might be doing back in the States. He counted back six hours and realized that it was 9pm in Texas. Bella had mentioned her intentions of seeing _Zero Gravity_ on opening night and Edward wondered if she had seen it yet. He'd been thinking about her a lot lately and looked forward to their call later that night. Thinking ahead to the opportunity he would soon have to talk to Bella again, Edward finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

Back in Amarillo Bella and Jessica left the _Zero Gravity_ showing equally speechless. Jessica's mind was filled with images of Edward Cullen that she would take with her to bed that night, promising very pleasant dreams. Jess was easily entertained and never thought too deeply about movie plots or song lyrics. She'd sing along to any catchy beat with no concern that the words she belted out lacked tact and morality, were about committing suicide, or offensive to women in some way. Likewise, she took movies at face value and as long as she was entertained for 120 minutes she walked away happy. Sex scenes with hot bodied celebs were just icing on the cake and so Jessica left the _Zero Gravity_ showing fully satisfied.

Bella, on the other hand, wanted to get something more for her time and money. She liked movies that made you think, or reinforced some fundamental value like courage, love, and justice. Edward had placed preconceived notions of the film in her mind before she entered the theater and she knew his warnings stuck with her as she watched it. Bella agreed with him that the disaster movie plot was unoriginal in that regard, but she found the secondary plot of the families being ripped apart throughout the turmoil was cinematically done very well. She nearly cried when one of the other astronauts said goodbye to his girlfriend and infant son before leaving for his mission.

And the sex scene Jessica had been so excited about was much more personal and impactful than Bella had expected. In the movie Edward's and Emma Watson's characters had just gotten engaged before he was called up for the space mission that could cost him his life. The scene was hot and steamy but was still filmed in a way that showed how those two characters were expressing their love and saying goodbye to one another. As the movie progressed and the astronauts went into space Bella could see what Edward had been speaking about with the cheesy dialogue and predictable plot twists. Overall, Bella was still pleased with the film, but she didn't deny the fact that Edward's casting as lead actor made it infinitely more enjoyable.

"That was fucking amazing!" Jessica said as they walked outside the theater and headed towards Bella's truck.

"I liked it too. Were you disappointed by the shower scene?" Bella chuckled.

"Hell, no! Edward Cullen was wet, naked, and totally sexy. Do you think that tattoo was real of just for the movie?"

"I don't know, I've hear rumors he really got one. I'll have to ask... um... ask the girls on Facebook," Bella replied. She very nearly slipped and said she would ask Edward. Fortunately, Jessica hadn't noticed.

"Those girls don't know any more than we do. It's all speculation. We'll have to wait until the next time the paparazzi snag some photos of him on the beach to be sure. I hope it's real. What about you?"

Bella shrugged and leaned against her old beat up Chevrolet. "You know I don't like tats. I'm hoping Edward didn't mark his beautiful body with a tribal band."

Jess rolled her eyes smiling. "You're such a nerd. Why am I friends with you again?" she asked walking over toward her cherry red Mitsubishi. She never rode anywhere in Bella's truck. Jess considered the '57 Chevy a death trap with a bad stereo system. And she thought any native Texan who drove a vehicle with no air conditioning was borderline psychotic.

"Because we share a love and devotion to Mr. Edward Cullen."

"Fuck, yeah, we do!" Jess exclaimed. "See you in class Monday."

"Yep." Bella waved as they parted ways.

Later that night Bella lay awake pondering how much her feelings for Edward had changed over the past few weeks. She had so many new questions for him and hoped he would be as forthcoming with information as he'd been in the past. She had been right to expect her perspective to be different while watching his films now that she had gotten to know the real man. She felt different watching him but it was still an enjoyable experience. It was a relief to know she didn't have to hide away her _Love Spelled Backwards_ DVD. That would have been tragic.

Watching Edward simulate sexual intercourse on screen didn't make Bella uncomfortable the way she'd expected to feel if it were someone she knew like Jake or Jessica doing it. The scenes still turned her on, so thank goodness Edward's recent phone calls hadn't ruined Bella's ability to enjoy a good sex scene! Instead it made her curious about what Edward must have been thinking while they shot those scenes. Had he and his costar really been naked? Was there some kind of movie magic tricks involved that made them look naked when in reality they were still covered? Edward had told her before that it was an awkward process but not something that really bothered him. She thought about what it must be like to make out with a person you hardly know as part of your job.

Bella also wondered how Edward had the courage to be an actor, not just during those intimate scenes but in every scene. She thought how vulnerable an actor must feel to stand up in front of so many cast and crew members openly weeping for one scene, screaming out lines of dialogue and pretending a space craft really was about to collide with yours in another. How could Edward shed his clothes and kiss and touch another actor with so many people watching? Bella shuddered just thinking about it. She had her moments when she could be playful or got particularly animated about something but for the most part she was an introverted person. It must take a lot of self assurance to be an actor; definitely not a career path that she could have taken.

The differences between her life and what she could only imagine Edward's was like were vast. Bella found herself even more fascinated by Edward Cullen now that she had unmitigated access to the star. No more wasted hours of speculation for Bella, she could go straight to the source. She wanted to know more about why he chose to portray Travis Tague in _Zero Gravity_ if he so loathed the film. And she wanted to attempt to ease his mind by giving him positive feedback on her experience watching it. She could report, for instance, that Jessica did indeed call the movie "amazing."

There was so much for them to talk about during their next call, between his experience at the London premiere and Bella's thoughts on the movie. She was even more eager to talk to him this time than the week before. She only hoped he was having a good experience over in England and that he'd keep his promise to behave himself at the party. Bella knew she'd be spending countless hours scouring the internet for live video feeds from the premiere the following day. She closed her eyes and willed her body to get some rest.

Edward was in no mood to continue socializing with London's elite by the time the after party got underway but he knew what people expected of him. He was the top billed actor for the movie and that meant he had to stick around for a while longer. He avoided Laurent as much as possible and managed to discreetly dump every drink he was handed throughout the entire evening. It was awful enough to have to sit through yet another screening of _Zero Gravity_ but all the phony smiling he was doing at the party was making his face hurt. All he wanted was to get back to his hotel to call Bella.

Most of the crew members who worked on the movie were genuinely good people and Edward wanted to thank them for being so kind to him. He worked his way through the crowd of people chatting with everyone and saying goodbye to those he wouldn't be seeing any longer. There were still a number of events he would have to attend with the cast and director but the crew he wouldn't see again unless they worked on one of his next projects.

He found the movie's director later in the night and spent a few minutes talking with him about future collaborations. Edward bit his tongue at some of the man's script suggestions. Edward didn't want to get into a discussion about his desire to make more meaningful films in the future for risk of insulting Drew and _Zero Gravity_. He'd made it that long without anyone finding out how badly he despised the picture; he didn't want to let it slip in the final weeks of his commitment. Drew said he would see him the following week at another press junket and Edward bid him a goodnight.

Edward was tingling with excitement by the time he finally left the party. It took all his strength not to call Bella from the limousine that escorted him safely back to the hotel. The only reason he was able to resist was because there were throngs of fans crowding the limo both outside the party and at the entrance to the hotel. Edward didn't want Bella to be able to hear their screams because more than anything he wanted her to think of him as just a regular guy. He cherished their phone calls because up to that point Bella had managed to make him feel normal again. He hadn't realized just how much he needed that.

After stripping out of the ten thousand dollar Armani suit, Edward left it crumpled on the floor and took a quick shower. He left the lights dim in the suite's bedroom and settled comfortably into an over sized easy chair by the window. He could see the busy streets of London from where he sat and hoped no one could see him from the ground with the lights as low as they were.

It was 2:56 am London time when Edward dialed Bella's number; her phone ringing only twice before connecting. "Hi, Edward," she answered. He could hear the relief in her voice. Had she expected him to forget to call, or worse, had she been worried he would be drunk when he did? Edward was aware of how bad his recent track record was and couldn't blame Bella if she did have doubts about him.

"Hey, Bella. How are you?"

"Great now that I've heard your voice. How was the premiere?"

"Much like the last one. Lots of beautiful people, fancy food and wine, and another party to celebrate how wonderful we all are," Edward replied hoping Bella could detect the sarcasm in his voice. "I'm glad it's behind me. Tomorrow I get to sleep in and then tour Buckingham Palace before my afternoon interviews."

Bella hummed in response and then said, "You seem in much higher spirits after this premiere, so that's something."

"Of course I am, I've known all evening that I would get to speak with you when it was over. You are the only thing that got me through it."

"So you did... you know, get through it unscathed?"

"I had one glass of champagne and carried the damn thing around all evening. So you don't have to worry about me drinking."

Bella smiled and curled up in the center of her bed happily. "I'll admit that I kept checking all my usual news sites today waiting for pictures from the premiere. I liked that gray suit, by the way. You looked really good in it."

Bella smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead, feeling utterly humiliated at her own admission. It didn't help that Edward chuckled in response. "Thank you. It's currently in a heap on the floor," he admitted glancing over at the custom designed three piece suit.

"What? Shouldn't that be on a padded hanger, protected by a moisture resistant garment bag?" she teased.

Edward shrugged. "Eh, close enough."

"You sound like such a _guy_."

_Yes_, Edward thought to himself; _please see me as just a regular guy, someone you can be comfortable around. _Now that he'd found someone outside Los Angeles to talk to, Edward wanted nothing more than his new friend to see him as her equal. He had enough people in his life who idolized him and built him up in their minds beyond any scope of reality. What he needed was someone who would tear him back down and keep him grounded.

"So, you haven't mentioned _Zero Gravity_ yet. I know you saw it with Jessica. What's your verdict?"

"Ha! Jessica thought it was great, and you were _amazing_ as usual. So congratulations on that."

"Thank goodness," Edward joked. "And what did you think?"

Bella wanted to tell Edward that she too still thought that he was _amazing_, but was putting a lot of effort into suppressing her inner fangirl tendencies. She didn't want to be _that girl_ and knew it was the last thing Edward needed. "Thanks to you I had such low expectations that I actually thought it was a decent disaster movie. I mean with a blockbuster like that you sort of expect a little hokeyness. I thought you, Emma Watson, and Laurent all gave good performances. To me the character development was the best part of the movie. I enjoyed it."

"Well, I am glad you didn't demand a refund," he teased.

Bella laughed at his dry humor. "I certainly felt it was worth my money. And now that I _have_ seen the movie I'm in a better position to talk with you about it."

"Another time I'd love to pick it apart with you and tell you any behind the scenes stories you want to know about. But right now I'd really like to hear about you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I feel like we only ever talk about my life and problems. Tell me what's been happening in your life."

"I finished writing a paper for one of my classes this morning. The topic was boring and it was a ton of research. I'm so glad it's done. I took my nieces to the park for a few hours this afternoon so Jake could take a nap. Both girls are getting teeth in and kept him up half the night. We played on the slide and I pushed them in the baby swings. My grandpop fell in his house on Tuesday but my dad took him to the hospital and he didn't break any bones, thank God. He's been living alone for about eight months and refuses to give up his freedom. I can't blame him for wanting to stay there but it makes things harder on my dad."

"Did your grandmother pass away? Is that why he's alone?"

"Yeah. She had cancer. It was really hard on all of us, but at least she got to meet her great granddaughters."

"And your mother's parents?"

"Live in Phoenix. I don't get to see them very much."

"You said before that your mother grew up in Phoenix, right?" Edward asked.

"Yes. She came to Galveston for spring break in college, met my dad while she was there, and never went home."

"Never went home?"

"Nope. She called her parents to let them know she had fallen in love. She dropped out of school and came back here to Amarillo with my dad when spring break ended."

"Really?"

"My mother tells the story as if it was love at first sight and nothing could have kept them from one another. But as I've grown older I've realized that it was probably just a symptom of my mother's erratic personality. It would have been just like her to decide to leave her life behind and follow a boyfriend without ever looking back."

"Wow. So is that why you don't see your maternal grandparents very often?"

"My grandparents forgave Renee quickly from what I've been told. But for years they accused my dad of kidnapping her. She was 21 and he was 26 at the time. My grandfather in particular hated Charlie for a long time. It wasn't until Jake was born that he finally came around."

"Because of Jake?"

"My grandfather was surprised that Charlie didn't divorce her after the affair. He was impressed that Charlie forgave my mom and chose to stay with her and raise Jacob as his own son. I think that made my grandfather see for the first time just how much my dad loved my mom."

"I suppose in order to forgive something like that then you must truly love the person," Edward agreed.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't like to think about how close they came to getting a divorce; it must have been an awful time. I'm lucky I was too young to remember it. What about your parents? Are they still happily married?"

"Yeah, they are the epitome of an old married couple. But I'm lucky. They love each other very much and I had a great childhood." Edward walked across the bedroom to look for the hotel's room service menu. "I'm going to order room service. What do you think I should get?"

"Hmmm... Tea and crumpets?"

Edward laughed. "Do you think I can get the hotel chef to make me a big greasy American style cheeseburger instead?"

"It's worth a shot. I bet if you tell them who you are you could get some American french fries too."

"I usually try to keep a low profile when I travel but it's useless on this trip. Every employee in the hotel knows I'm here. And the front desk knows it's me calling before they even pick up the phone. 'Good evening, Mr. Cullen. What can I do for you, sir?'" Edward said imitating the front desk clerk's English accent.

Bella giggled on the other end of the phone and it made Edward smile. He liked that he could entertain her.

"Do big stars like you really check into hotels with fake names?" Bella wondered.

"Yeah, I've done that a lot the past few months. Word usually gets out anyway but if it's a short stay sometimes I can get away undetected."

"Can you tell me what names you use or is that top secret information?"

"Let's see. I've used Emmett's name a couple times but fans figured that one out quick. Laurent said I should use cartoon characters but I would feel ridiculous making a reservation under the name Scooby Doo."

"Oh, God. That would be humiliating. You should use superheroes; like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark."

"Yeah, that would be better. Hang on a second while I order, okay?" Edward asked.

"Sure."

Bella listened as Edward called room service and ordered a cheeseburger, french fries, chicken fingers, vanilla milkshake, and crumpets. She noticed how polite he was with the hotel employee. Even when he or she had difficulty understanding what Edward meant by "chicken finger" he kept his manners in check and ended the call thanking the person for complying with his special, late night request. She thought his phone etiquette made his personality that much sweeter.

"Hey, I'm, back. You still there?" his voice rang in Bella's ear.

"I'm here slugger."

"Slugger?"

"That food order was as All-American as you could get. I'm imagining you wearing a Brewers t-shirt and a baseball cap eating all that food at Miller Park stadium."

"What can I say; I miss the US of A and all her greasy goodness."

"At least you tacked on the crumpets at the end there," she snickered.

"Honestly, I don't even know what they are. I ordered the crumpets for you."

"For me? What are you gonna do, FedEx them to Texas?" Bella laughed.

"No, I'm going to pretend you're here eating with me. You have no idea how many meals I have to eat alone."

Bella frowned. "I wish I was really there so you don't have to be alone."

Edward was silent for a moment and Bella struggled to say something else that would distract him from whatever thoughts he might be having. The last thing she wanted to do was remind him of his loneliness in a strange country.

"So I'm eating the crumpets and you the cheeseburger. In your mind am I wearing a Brewer's t-shirt too?" she asked.

Edward chuckled softly. "Okay, imaginary Bella can wear a Brewer's t-shirt… but no pants."

"No pants?" Bella replied with a squeak in her voice.

"If I'm not wearing pants then you're not wearing pants," Edward said jokingly.

Edward had told himself weeks earlier that he would not flirt with his new friend. He valued the companionship too much to let the male-female dynamic muddy the waters. Bella sounded really cute though; embarrassed and stunned. He couldn't help himself.

Bella cleared her throat awkwardly. "You're not wearing pants, Edward?"

Edward imagined how much fun it would be to flirt more with her but didn't want to break the promise he'd made to himself. "No, I took a shower just before I called you. I'm wearing the hotel robe."

Bella closed her eyes and placed a hand over the speaker on her phone. She was having vivid flashbacks of Edward's bottom from the _Zero Gravity _shower scene. It was a mighty fine bottom. Only in her mind, Emma Watson was nowhere to be found and Bella Swan was soaping up Edward's chest.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you thinking about?"

After three phone calls Bella had yet to act the way Edward expected her to in almost every regard. He kept waiting for her to wake up and realize she was talking to a celebrity that she was supposedly attracted to. So far Bella had kept her cool and spoken to him the way he imagined she might speak to one of the boys in her class. Reacting flustered to a few comments he'd made was as close to revealing any such infatuation as she had come. Edward was beginning to wonder if she was a better actor than him, or maybe he was wrong about her having a crush on him. He was surprised to find he was disappointed thinking it might be the latter.

"I was thinking that I have a question I wanted to ask about your character in _Zero Gravity_," she finally replied.

"Okay..."

"Does Travis Tague have a tattoo on his bicep or is that yours?"

"That's what you've been thinking about, huh?" he replied with amusement in his voice. Bella had obviously been thinking about the shower scene then.

"Jessica and I were debating it after the movie."

"And what was your take on it?"

"I was of the opinion it was purely for the role. Jessica disagreed."

Edward heard a knock at his hotel door and tightened the cord on his robe before walking across the room to answer it. "Our food is here."

Bella waited again, listening intently as Edward greeted someone and accepted their food on a cart with a squeaky wheel. She heard him tip the bellhop and the man replied with a emphatic "thank you, sir".

"So, the tattoo," Edward said when he was once again alone in the London hotel suite. "I'll tell you the truth but you must keep it under the strictest confidence."

"I swear," Bella replied intrigued.

"The truth is I have a two inch scar on my left arm from when I was twelve. Emmett and I were climbing fences on my Grandpop's farm and a huge nail head ripped me open as I was climbing over. It cut me so deep my mom took me to the ER and I got a tetanus shot and seven stitches. So on set when the makeup artist saw it she freaked out and said we had to either cover it with makeup or give my character a tattoo. The director thought a tattoo would suit Travis Tague well so every day Sophie the makeup artist drew that stupid thing on my arm."

Bella couldn't help the wide grin that took over her face. She imagined Edward as a young boy, hopping fences with his older brother. They must have gotten into lots of trouble growing up and she wanted to hear more about his youth. He'd mentioned a few times how his relationship with Emmett has been strained the past few years. She wanted to do whatever she could to help him reconnect with his brother. Mending family ties, Bella knew, would be instrumental in Edward's happiness.

"Sophie did a hell of a job. I never would have guessed there was anything else there under the tat."

"It took an hour every day. She'd work on my arm while another lady did my face and hair."

"How come I never noticed it in _Love Spelled Backwards?_"

"They covered it in makeup for that movie. Or shot me from the other side."

"Wow. You should mention that in the audio commentary for _Zero Gravity_." Bella said.

Edward laughed. "Why do you say that?"

"So Jessica will know the truth! I feel like a traitor keeping this juicy tidbit a secret."

"You feel guilty for not telling your friend that my upper arm was maimed when I was a kid? You women are so weird."

"Yes, yes we are," she agreed. "So, how's that burger?"

"I haven't even taken a bite yet. Wait a second. Hmmm. Yep. Good burger," Edward replied with his mouth full.

So much for his impeccable manners, Bella thought. "It sounds like you're liking that burger. How do my crumpets look?"

"Kinda gross," he chuckled. "I'm glad you're eating them and not me."

"Am I still pant-less?"

"Hell yes," Edward answered in between bites. "You have me curious now though, what are you really wearing?"

Bella felt her heart begin beating faster as she looked down at her clothes. She briefly considered lying and describing something a little sexier, but knew flirting with Edward was not a good idea. She swore to herself that she wouldn't let her mind run wild with thoughts of Edward being anything to her but a good friend. Even if he did somehow develop feelings for her over the phone she knew all that would change if he ever saw her in person. And the fact that they lived a thousand miles apart was reason number two not to go there. The best she could hope for was a long distance friendship. Bella never expected to meet her new friend.

"Black yoga pants and a Tweety bird tank top."

"I think I'll require a picture at the end of our call, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, as long as you return the favor."

"Deal."

There were a few moments of silence while Edward chewed and Bella began brushing out her hair. She was grateful she hadn't claimed to be wearing something she wasn't and then have to explain why she couldn't send a picture.

"What are you thinking about now," Edward asked suddenly.

"_Zero Gravity_ again. Will your parents go to see the movie?"

"They probably saw the Saturday matinee. But I haven't spoken to them in a few weeks so I'm not certain. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering if they're supportive. You seem to really miss them so I find it strange that you don't speak to them more often."

Edward pushed the food cart over to the hotel room door and began casually pacing around the room. He ate a lot; he should definitely hit the gym in the morning before sightseeing. "Are you wondering why I didn't call them instead of you two weeks ago?" he whispered somberly.

"Yeah, I guess I am. I often wonder why you choose to talk to me instead of someone you're maybe closer to."

Edward didn't want to admit to Bella that he had no one who fit that description. "I don't want to disappoint my parents, or give them more reason to worry. I just want my dad to be proud of my career and for my mother to stop worrying about me living in L.A. on my own. If I'd called them in the state I was in the night of the L.A. premiere..."

"You don't have to say it. I understand," Bella interrupted. "You don't have to think about that night because you have me now. I'm the one you can talk to about anything without fear of judgment or disappointment. But I still think you should call them, Edward. Keeping in touch is important."

Edward sighed and scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Okay then, Miss Swan. In the morning. I promise to call home just to catch up with them."

"Thank you. You sound like you're getting sleepy."

"I am. The sun will be rising here soon."

"I should let you go," Bella replied trying not to give away her reluctance to end their conversation.

"Yeah, I should get some sleep. Same time next week?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay then, Tweety. Good night. Don't forget to send me that picture."

Bella smiled. "You too, slugger."

The first thing Edward did after hanging up the phone was take off the fluffy white hotel robe he wore. He wanted to send Bella a picture of himself that accentuated the real him. He held his phone out as far as he could reach and angled it to the side so as to capture his face, upper chest, and left bicep in the lens. He then sent the photo to Bella with the tagline: _As you can see, no tattoo. Just an unsightly badge of honor from my adolescence. _

Two weeks prior Bella sent Edward a photo that had been from the neck up. This time she knew he wanted to see her tank top so she snapped several shots of herself that included her full torso. She selected the best one, in which she was smiling with her head tilted to one side, and just so happened to include a hint of cleavage. Bella thought she looked kinda sexy without being slutty.

She replied to his text a few minutes later with the message: _ Don't be an idiot. Scars on guys are sexy, yours included! Here's Tweety Bird, as promised. _

Bella smiled to herself. Just a little cleavage couldn't impede their friendship, right?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please leave a review! And for an update, I'm currently writing chapter 12. :-)**


	4. Unwelcome Offer

Chapter Four: Unwelcome Offer and Unexpected Call

Tuesday morning the phone rang at ten o'clock. Edward had been back in L.A. less than a day and the busy schedule he kept in London combined with the second round of jet lag were taking a toll on his body. He blindly searched for his phone with one hand while his face remained buried in the pillow.

"What?" he answered without even checking for the name of the caller first. His voice was hoarse and thick with sleep.

"Edward, darling!" his overpaid and overenthusiastic agent greeted boisterously into his ear.

"Melissa. What the hell time is it?" he groaned.

"Quarter after ten. I know you're still sleeping off the press tour but I have exciting news for you that couldn't wait. Are you awake enough to listen to me?"

"Sure."

"Good answer. I know you've been dragging your feet on selecting your next project for reasons I don't understand. But now it turns out to be a good thing that you aren't tied up with other commitments. Maybe you have psychic abilities, because something amazing just fell into your lap. I just got off the phone with Audrey, she works over at Universal. You met her years ago when the script for _Love Spelled Backwards_ was finally starting to make some noise with the bigwigs. Anyway, she wants you to come back in... to discuss a sequel!"

Edward sat up immediately and scrubbed his hand across his face trying to wake up from this terrible dream. "Are you serious? How can there be a sequel when Eli Duncan only wrote one book?"

"He started a second apparently, but never finished it. Audrey said Duncan has agreed to push his other projects aside in order to rush the sequel to bookshelves before the movie will come out."

Edward was speechless. He thought his days of overexposure were winding down. After the unexpected success of _Love Spelled Backwards_ and then the blockbuster _Zero Gravity_ Edward was looking forward to just hiding out for a while. He had every intention of moving on from his teen idol status and start making more meaningful films; maybe a psychological thriller or a World War II flick. He never wanted to appear in public and get called Riley Biers ever again. The very thought of portraying him in another _Love Spelled Backwards_ movie churned his stomach.

"So what do you think?" Melissa demanded. "The script is already written, Audrey says it's being kept hush hush around town until everyone signs on. And by _everyone_, she means _you_. Apparently the producers refuse to consider recasting the lead role. You know what that means don't you? You can name your price and they'll gladly pay it. _Love Spelled Backwards_ was so successful they'll pay top dollar to get you back for another one."

"I can't believe this."

"You don't sound elated, Edward. Did you take sleeping pills last night? My other clients would have a bit more enthusiasm to get this kind of news. You should be at least a little excited to get the opportunity to reprise a role that will make you an even bigger superstar and likely double your net worth."

"I don't care about the money," Edward refuted.

Melissa laughed heartily into the phone. "Oh, Edward! Spoken like a true celebrity! I remember you feeling very differently when I found you in that rat hole of an apartment three years ago. Now come on, perk up. Take some uppers and call me back in an hour. I'm going to email you the contract and the script. I've already had Hank go over everything and it checks out. All you have to do is name your price."

She hung up before Edward could protest or even respond. He proceeded to throw the phone across the bedroom in frustration where it banged the opposite wall and dropped to the carpeted floor. Suddenly all of Edward's plans seemed to be slipping through his fingers. There were five other scripts sitting downstairs on his coffee table waiting for his attention. Most of them were Melissa's suggestions and probably not what Edward was looking for, but there was one about a soldier home from Iraq and dealing with PTSD that he was interested in reading. He'd heard that Ryan Gosling was also interested in that role. They'd both been considered to play Riley Biers but Ryan had portrayed Noah in _The Notebook_ just a few years earlier. Since the movies were similar the casting director wanted to find a fresh face and Edward was chosen to play Riley.

Edward knew that a_ Love Spelled Backwards_ sequel would have to take priority. With a reprisal of that role coming out of nowhere he would be forced to forfeit the role of the damaged soldier to Ryan. The Universal people were probably already getting the wheels in motion to start production. He knew the pressure for him to sign on from the executives and his former costars was going to be intense. Some of the actors he worked with on _Love Spelled Backwards_ hadn't had the same success as Edward in landing other big budget movies. They would be incredibly angry with him to lose out on this opportunity just because he didn't feel like being a megastar anymore. "Suck it up," they would say to him, "We need this movie deal."

Edward hated that he felt such a need to distance himself from the role that made his career possible. He'd starred in crappy low budget films and had bit parts on TV shows before landing that role. _Love Spelled Backwards_ had been a dream come true for Edward. He worked his ass off preparing for the part and he took the job very seriously. Hours were spent on the phone with Eli Duncan going over Riley's character and by the end of filming Edward felt like Riley's soul was inside him.

Riley Biers was a boy with a troubled upbringing who became enamored with one of his high school classmates. The innocent and naive Victoria was sweet, wealthy, and privileged. Eli Duncan's characters were known for being complex and the reader is torn throughout the first half of the book as to whether or not Victoria should get involved with such a bad apple as Riley. At first he's a bad influence on her, but once their love starts to blossom and the reader learns more about Riley's dark past, it becomes clear just how much he needs someone like Victoria to love him and help him turn his life around.

Edward read the book from cover to cover in three days when he learned he would be called in to audition. He could remember wanting that part more than any other he'd ever auditioned for in his life. Edward had always felt proud to be part of the screen adaptation of _Love Spelled Backwards_. It certainly wasn't the role or the movie itself that Edward was hesitant to revisit. He feared the stardom that came with such a notorious role. Agreeing to a sequel would mean at least two more years of being Riley in his fans eyes. The paparazzi would be relentless throughout the filming, the weeks and months leading up to the film's release, and then the endless promotional touring. He would be subjecting himself to more grueling schedules and more screaming crowds of people every time he appeared in public.

Edward loved his fans, he truly did. Eventually word would get out about this new film. The press would rake him over the coals, assigning complete blame on his shoulders, if the movie never got made. Devoted EVOL followers would be disappointed, angry even, if he refused the role. There were so many people counting on him, but he already felt like the paparazzi's presence was unbearable. If he took on this character again he knew he could expect the craziness he experienced before to be just as overwhelming, if not worse.

Edward groaned as he got out of bed and stalked naked into his bathroom to take a long hot shower. He needed to clear his mind before reading through the script that was undoubtedly already waiting for him in his inbox. He wanted to give the sequel idea a fair shot and in his current mental state that just wasn't going to happen. So after he was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans Edward quickly breezed through the contract Melissa sent over; he knew she would be up his ass if he didn't call in exactly one hour. It seemed to include all the usual legal jargon. There were a few lines that concerned him and he wrote down some questions to ask Hank.

He called his agent back to let her know he agreed that the contract seemed reasonable. He promised Melissa to spend the rest of the day reading the full script and she reminded him to call her the following day with his thoughts. Edward understood it was her job to get him the best roles she could, but it didn't miss his attention that the preliminary salary offered was a cool ten million. Edward knew Melissa's main motivation in getting this deal done was cashing in on her five percent. He understood that she worked for him to make money, just like everyone else, and he didn't resent her for that. It only served as another reminder that she too was counting on him to sign the contract and make the movie deal happen.

For the rest of the day Edward read the screenplay for _Love Spelled Backwards 2 (working title)_. It wasn't as bad as he feared, having suspected it to be a rush job just to capitalize on the success of the first movie. He saw that Duncan had in fact put a lot of effort into adapting a half finished book into a screenplay. And the same man who wrote the _Love Spelled Backwards_ screenplay had also done the sequel.

As he read, Edward was reminded of what attracted him to the first film three years ago. It was a charming love story and filled with good dialogue, an interesting plot, and a good mix of drama and humor. It seemed that Eli Duncan had written an intriguing follow up to his first bestseller. Reading about these familiar characters brought back a lot of memories Edward had from making _Love Spelled Backwards_. It had been the best time in his life living his dream and working with such a great cast and crew. Then the movie was released to the public and Edward was launched into super-stardom. He had watched himself become a household name seemingly overnight and his personal freedom and privacy dissipate into thin air.

Edward was distracted from his thoughts by the buzzing sound coming from the front door. The visitor had to be someone he knew; someone who had the pin number for the community's front gate. He wasn't expecting anyone and figured it might be Melissa, thinking she'd be more effective in convincing him in person. When he opened the door he was surprised to find Laurent standing on his doorstep.

"Hey, man. This is a surprise. What happened to the dreads?"

"Are you kidding? I had my stylist chop them off an hour after I finished my last interview in London. Hopefully women will still recognize me from the movie, know what I'm saying?"

Edward nodded his head and smiled leaning against the open door frame. "So what's the occasion?"

"I thought we should go out tonight, maybe a tourist bar. We can meet some girls, show them around Hollywood, and get laid. What do you say?"

"I don't know. Melissa dropped a big script on me today. I really need to concentrate on that," Edward answered. Unfortunately for him, Edward knew that his friend did not back down easily, especially when it had to do with women.

"Fuck your script. I say you look like you need a break from it. Let's go out, have some fun, and ride the coattails of our Astronaut alter egos for as long as the movie's in theaters."

Edward didn't want to mention that he was trying to shake off the coattails of Travis Tague, not bask in his glory. He'd yet to rid himself of Riley Biers either, and if he agreed to reprise the role he might never be able to. But he understood what Laurent was talking about. His friend played a secondary character in a big budget movie. It was in Laurent's best professional interest to associate himself with the character and get as much exposure as possible in hopes that it would lead to a higher profile part.

For a few fleeting seconds Edward thought about Bella. He knew she might be upset if the paparazzi snapped any pictures of him, but he hadn't promised her to never leave his house again. Edward was young and single, there was no reason why he couldn't go out for dinner and drinks with his friend.

"Alright, I'll go," Edward decided. "Come on in while I get ready."

A few nights later Bella was hanging out at home with Jacob and her nieces. They were lounging on opposite ends of the sofa flipping through channels while the twins played on the floor in front of them. It was a rare occasion that Rachel and Rebecca occupied themselves without making some kind of a mess. Renee had bought some Touch and Feel baby books that were keeping them busy. Bella watched them and smiled, still amazing by how fast they were growing and how cute their babbling to one another sounded. Jacob was less impressed by their talking and simply grateful that neither of his toddlers were pulling on his pant leg for the time being.

"Where did mom and dad say they were going?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know where. Mom just said they were getting dinner. You wanna watch Big Bang Theory or the playoff game?"

Jacob smiled. "You even have to ask?"

"Rangers game," they said in unison and then began laughing together. Both girls looked up at their daddy and aunt.

A few minutes later Bella's cell phone buzzed in her jeans pocket. There was a message from Jessica.

_Edward Alert! Check out TMZ! OMG!_

Bella could feel the blood draining from her face as she read the message. Her first thought was that something terrible happened to Edward. She knew he arrived home safely from London a few days before because photos were taken of him at LAX. So what happened in the two days since he returned to L.A.?

Jacob noticed her strange reaction to whatever she read on the phone. "What's wrong, Bells?"

Bella looked up at her brother not knowing how to respond. "I'm not sure. Hand me your tablet."

Jacob lifted one eyebrow but passed it to her. She snatched it quickly from his hands and turned it on impatiently. As soon as loaded on the screen Bella knew immediately what Jessica wanted her to see. On the front page was a photo taken of Edward Tuesday evening according to the report with a tagline that read: _Hollywood's Favorite Spaceman Takes A Punch For Mystery Woman_. She quickly scrolled down the page reading the short article below the picture of Edward holding up his hand to block his face from the paparazzi. Their cameras were still able to capture the black eye on Edward's face as he was exiting the back of the Hollywood bar.

_Edward Cullen, famous for his portrayal of Riley Biers in last summer's _Love Spelled Backwards_, was allegedly involved in a fist fight inside a West Hollywood night club late Tuesday evening. Witnesses say Cullen was dancing closely with an unidentified blonde woman moments before a large man approached them and took a swing at the unsuspecting actor. Laurent Lewis, Cullen's costar in his most recent film _Zero Gravity_, rushed to his defense and a fight soon broke out. One witness claims both Cullen and Lewis appeared drunk and disorderly and were escorted by security out the back entrance of the bar. No charges were pressed according to sources, but Cullen didn't escape the incident scott free. That shiner ought to be a reminder for at least a week... don't put your hands on another man's girl, Edward! _

Bella read the blurb twice and studied the photo looking for something to pop out at her; some clue that would tell her what really happened. She could see Edward's hair was mussed up and it looked like the t-shirt he wore had a rip in it. The other _Zero Gravity_ actor was caught on camera behind him as they ducked and ran away from the photographers. She wasn't sure who she was more furious with, the paparazzi or Edward.

"So what's going on?" Jacob demanded. He didn't like the way Bella was acting; the erratic behavior was very unlike her.

Bella tore her eyes from the tablet knowing that she had to think of an explanation for her bizarre behavior. She realized her hands were clenched in fists and she was gritting her teeth. "My friend did something stupid. He got in a fight at a bar. Jess just texted me about it."

"Which friend?"

"Um... just a guy."

Jacob sat up straighter on the sofa. "A guy? What guy would this be, sister?" he teased. "Someone you're dating?"

Bella's face flamed red and she quickly shut off the tablet. "No. He's just a friend. It's totally platonic. Apparently some guy hit him in a bar and gave him a black eye."

"What was the fight about?"

"It seems like he was dancing with another guy's girlfriend. I don't know the whole story. I'll be right back," Bella answered before jumping up from the sofa and hurrying upstairs to her room.

Not once had she ever called Edward Cullen, she'd always waited for him to call her. But it was only Thursday! She couldn't wait three more days before talking to him. If he'd been hurt in any way she had to know that he was okay. Something must have gone wrong for him to go out and do something so stupid. Hadn't he just been telling her the other day how he wanted to keep a low profile? And the idea of Edward dancing with some blonde floozy made Bella's blood boil. She had no claim on him, she knew that, but still the thought of him touching another woman was too painful to contemplate.

There was one other, more devastating explanation to what she saw on TMZ. What if Edward had reverted back to his old ways because he was bored with her? He was after all rich, handsome, and single. Bella knew he wouldn't be satisfied trading all his friends and the L.A. nightlife for a few phone conversations with some girl he'd never met. If he'd decided life was more fun before the nagging fan with canary yellow stationary came along then she'd rather be told now rather than wait for a Sunday phone call that would never come.

Angrily, Bella dialed the celebrity's private phone number and counted the rings. He better not screen her call she thought as the ringing continued.

"Bella." His voice was velvety smooth but still cut like razor blades. There wasn't the same cheerful tone she'd heard during their last call. His indifference chilled her to the bone.

"Hi. Um, I'm sorry to call you. I mean, um, I know it's not Sunday. I'm not trying to bother you or anything, but I uh-"

"You've seen the pictures I presume," he interjected in that same cool voice. It made Bella cringe.

"Yes."

There was silence for a moment and Bella worried perhaps he'd hung up on her. She wouldn't blame him. He probably regretted giving his cell number to one of his crazy fans. She was about to start apologizing again when she heard Edward sigh.

"I'm so sorry I let you down, Bella," he whispered. She immediately sank to her knees on the pink carpet of her bedroom. Relief flooded her senses as the voice she recognized as _her_ Edward filled her ears. "I wish you hadn't seen me like that."

"I was so worried about you. And mad, but mostly worried. Did you really get into a fight?"

"There's no excuse for my behavior, but let me just say I didn't intend to drink as much as I did. This woman, Tanya something, kept flirting with me and we were doing shots together I think. I swear I didn't know she was married."

"Married? So it was her husband that hit you?"

"First he shoved me. I... I had my hands on the woman's ass. One minute we were kissing and the next minute her giant six foot three husband was shouting in my face. I think I made a joke, saying he could have her back now, and that's when he punched me. I struck back, hitting him in the stomach. He called the woman his wife and lifted her left hand so I could see her wedding band. By then I knew I deserved whatever he was about to do and didn't fight back when he hit me again. Laurent saw the whole thing and started making the situation worse by cursing the man out. Then security intervened and I was drug out the back door."

"Oh, Edward."

"I know you're disappointed in me. I can hear it in your voice. You sound just like my mother did when she called me yesterday."

Bella couldn't tell him the truth; that she was mostly disappointed to hear he'd been kissing someone. She hated herself for the crushing jealousy she felt. She knew it was absurd to think he wouldn't be out there flirting with women, dating them... maybe even _fucking_ them. Until three weeks ago Bella and Jessica spent as much time following Edward's romantic relationships as they did his career. She could be good phone friends with him, nothing more. Edward would be like the pen pal Bella had for her seventh grade social studies assignment. Only she would get phone calls from California rather than writing letters to Sweden. There was no other options for them. The rational part of Bella's brain understood this. Her heart, on the other hand, not so much. She'd felt her heart constrict painfully the moment Edward admitted to kissing that Tanya woman.

"No, Edward, please don't think you've disappointed me. I was concerned is all. Are you okay, your eye?"

"I look like shit and it hurts, but it'll heal. I'm just embarrassed."

"I only saw the story online a few minutes ago and still I was so worried about you. I hate that two days went by before I found out. I wasn't sure if it would be okay to call you," Bella admitted biting her lower lip with her teeth.

"You can call me anytime, sweet Bella."

"I wasn't sure. You sounded so different when you answered. I thought maybe I was disturbing you."

"I'll never ignore a call from you, I promise."

"So are you alright? Your voice still sounds so sad."

"Let's just say I've had a bunch of shitty days this week. I called my parents like you asked. That conversation was good. They saw the movie; said they liked it. Then the flight home from London was awful. A fan was sitting three rows ahead of me and kept peeking over her shoulder and staring at me the entire flight. I couldn't sleep at all. Then Melissa..."

"Who's Melissa?"

"My agent. She gave me this script to read."

Bella was confused. "What was shitty about receiving a script? Does your agent want you to do another cheesy disaster movie?"

Edward was pacing on the veranda in his back yard. He'd been thinking of taking a swim in the infinity pool when Bella's call came through. He'd never been so relieved to receive a call and so nervous to answer it at the same time. "I can't really tell you the details; at least not until I sign the contract. But there's a lot of pressure on me from people out here. People who are depending on me to accept this role. I just don't know if it's the right thing to do, for my career or my sanity."

"Edward, I know I don't have the slightest idea how all this Hollywood stuff works, but can I give you one piece of advice? Don't let what everyone else wants influence you to make a decision that you know in your heart is wrong for you. Forget about everyone else. Make the choice that's right for you."

He grimaced. Bella had no idea that she was currently trying to talk him out of filming a sequel to her favorite movie. Had she known, Edward suspected her advice might be slightly different. This worried Edward, what might be Bella's reaction to the news about the sequel? The truth almost spilled from his lips the second he mentioned the script. He wanted to tell her and it wasn't a lack of trust that stopped him. Edward knew if anyone was capable of keeping a secret it was Bella. What worried him was that he felt like progress was being made in convincing Bella that he was just a normal person with a high profile job. If he told her he was contemplating becoming Riley Biers again would that blur the lines between Riley and Edward in her eyes? He wanted Bella to be able to forget all about his fame when they talked. Judging by the hesitation in her voice when she called him that day Edward could tell she wasn't completely there. He still made her nervous.

"There's a lot to consider with any movie deal," he tried to explain. "This would be high profile... lots of media attention. The filming schedule would be grueling. Most of it will be shot here in L.A. but the timetable is tight. The studio wants a Christmas release date which gives us just over a year. That's not a lot of time."

Bella nodded, listening intently to what Edward described. "What genre is this movie? Can you tell me that much?"

Edward sighed. "Romance, coming of age, testing the strength of a relationship guided by fate."

"Sounds intense."

"It would be. There would be pressure on me throughout the process. I wanted to slow things down, take a little break, and maybe work on a project that I was actually excited about participating in. But this offer, it's good. Damn good. It's the kind of thing you don't pass up."

"How are you going to decide? I wish you could tell me so that I could help you."

"I asked my mother about it yesterday when she called. But that didn't solve anything. Her answer to every problem is for me to go home to Wisconsin."

"You told Esme about this secret movie and not me?" Bella teased.

Edward didn't pick up on the humor in her voice. "I really do want to tell you. Your opinion would be very relevant to my problem, but I'm worried about your reaction."

"My reaction? Why?"

"Because I feel like I owe it to my fans to make this movie."

"You're afraid I'll tell you to do it?" she guessed.

"Yeah. I know you will."

"Well now I'm really curious, Edward. I remember you promising never to lie to me, even by omission," she said hoping to guilt the truth out of him. She couldn't help herself.

Edward groaned theatrically. "Okay, I'm going to tell you. But please promise me you won't freak out."

"I promise nothing."

"Bella," he said sternly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

"Fine, fine. Totally serious now. Supportive friend hat is on. Shoot."

"It's a _Love Spelled Backwards_ sequel."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," he replied rolling his eyes.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Edward had to hold the phone away from his ear. He was surprised the glass wall behind him didn't shatter into a million tiny fragments. This was exactly the response he had feared.

"Oh. My. God. How could you torture me with that kind of information? It's been agonizing enough to keep the secret of the fake tribal band from Jess. This is like the mother of all secrets!"

Edward scowled at her typical fangirl ramblings. "Don't you think the mother of all secrets you're keeping from Jessica is the fact that you and I are friends?"

Bella nearly choked on the word. _Friends_. Yes, she was his friend. She immediately felt terrible and struggled to control her breathing and suppress the excitement she felt. "I'm so sorry. You're right, I'm your friend and I am here to support you. I just can't believe they want to make another EVOL movie. I'm in shock."

"Why are you surprised by that? Hollywood is out of ideas; didn't you know? They make every remotely successful movie into a sequel. Independence Day 2 for instance. Hangover 3. Toy Story 4. Saw 5. Fast and Furious 107."

Bella giggled. "Okay, okay. You're right. And I really am sorry for screeching like a crazed fan. I was just not expecting that at all."

"I know. I was shocked too. Duncan's writing a second book to go along with the movie release. So now do you see why this is so hard for me to turn down?"

"Yeah, I get it. This is a tough one. A second EVOL would be so awesome. And the fans are so hungry for more; I know it'll make a lot of money."

"So that's it? You want me to do the movie now too?" Edward asked hopelessly. He was completely outnumbered. The only person he could find to support his desire to turn down the movie deal was his overprotective mother.

"Honestly, yes. As a fan of the book and movie, as a girl who is irrevocably in love with Riley Biers, I do want you to," Bella admitted. "But don't you remember what I wrote in that letter you read last month? Above all I care about _you_. I want you to be happy, I meant that. I couldn't possibly enjoy EVOL 2 if I knew it cost you your happiness."

Edward sat down in one of the wicker chairs on his veranda and looked out across the lawn to the carefully manicured bushes that lined the property. "I have to admit the script is good. The truth is I'm not opposed to the movie itself. It's everything else that comes from being Riley."

"The media attention," Bella stated.

"The screaming, crying, erratic women. The constant paparazzi presence outside my home, the studio, the grocery store," Edward added.

"You're making me feel guilty. I'm the reason you have zero privacy. If people like me didn't eat those pictures up you wouldn't be followed like that."

Edward sighed. He didn't want Bella to feel guilty. "Don't blame yourself. It's because of you, Jessica, and the whole EVOL Facebook fan club that the movie offers keep coming in. I understand that and I'm grateful for my success."

"So what are you going to do?" Bella whispered.

"I don't know."

"How long do you have to decide?"

"The studio wants an answer by the end of the week. But really everything revolves around me. They won't recast the lead role so I could drag my feet for months if I wanted. It would just piss off the execs."

"I think you need to let this soak in. Give yourself a little time and reevaluate how you feel in a couple days. So, let's talk about something else, okay? What were you doing when I called?"

Edward smiled to himself. How had he survived all this time without Bella in his life? She just made everything... brighter. "I was thinking about going for a swim," he answered.

"Is the weather nice there today?" Bella asked trying not to think about Edward in a bathing suit.

"A little chilly but the pool is heated."

Bella chuckled. "Of course it is."

"What were you doing before you called me?"

"Jacob is over with the girls. We were watching the Ranger's game downstairs. Jake figured he could show up at dinner time and get a free meal but my parents went out to eat tonight."

"Poor Jake," Edward replied. "I hope you fed him."

"Eh, I told him to wait around to claim mom's doggy bag."

"What, really?"

Bella smiled. "No, I made him a cheeseburger casserole. What kind of big sister do you take me for?"

"Damn, that sounds good. What else can you make?" Edward asked rubbing his stomach idly.

"I'm a decent cook. I can make Chicken picatta, beef strogonoff, homemade pot pies, let's see... I make a mean pecan pie, mint chocolate chip brownies, bananas foster-"

"Stop, stop. You're killing me," Edward moaned.

Bella blushed, the firm grasp on her subconscious slipping just enough to imagine what it would be like to cook for Edward. She bet he would look amazing sitting in her kitchen, licking a spoon covered in chocolate batter...

Her daydreaming was interrupted by a splash heard through the phone. "Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that noise? It sounded like water."

"I just got in the pool."

"What if you drop the phone, dummy," she chided playfully.

"It's been placed safely on the concrete edge. You're on speaker. I'm imagining that you're here with me, sitting at the edge of the pool with your feet in the water."

"Now you're killing me," she whined.

"And why's that?" he asked knowingly.

Bella was about to respond when she heard a knock at her door and froze mid sentence. "Come in."

"What's going on?" Edward asked in her ear as Jacob pushed open her bedroom door. He was holding Rachel in one arm.

"Bells? Who are you talking to?" Jake asked.

"My brother just came into my room," she explained to Edward. Looking up at Jacob again Bella said, "Just a friend."

Jacob's face fell and he cleared his throat. "The friend you said got into a fight?"

"Um, yeah. I was just making sure he's okay."

Jacob didn't look pleased by her answer. In fact, his face twisted into a pained expression. "Bella, what is going on with you?" he asked pulling his tablet out from behind his back.

He shifted the baby in his arms in order to turn the tablet on and show the screen to Bella. She gasped when she saw the TMZ webpage loaded up. Edward's picture was there, right where she left it. Damn tablet technology for remembering the website she was looking at!

"So are you crazy, delusional, schizophrenic?" Jake demanded, "or do you want to tell me who you're _really_ talking to?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you all liked it too! Please leave a review! :-)**


	5. Pizza Love

Chapter Five: Pizza Love

Bella smiled when she heard her phone ring at exactly eight o'clock Sunday evening. She knew exactly who was calling and the nervous butterflies in her stomach she experienced during prior conversations were gone. She grabbed her phone off the kitchen counter feeling genuine affection for her caller.

"Hey, slugger," she answered happily.

Edward grinned. "Hello there, Isabella."

"Any more black eyes to report?"

"Nope, nope. None that I'm aware of. You sound like you're in a good mood. Can I assume things went well with your brother the other day?"

Bella rolled her eyes. Jacob. He was almost five years younger than her but since he was a head taller he acted like he was _her_ protector and not the other way around. But Bella knew different. When Jacob saw the TMZ story on his tablet the other night he realized that Bella had referred to Edward Cullen, the famous actor she idolized, as her "friend". He was really pissed at her when he caught her supposedly talking to herself in her room. Jacob thought that his sister's cheese had finally slid off her cracker and was now having conversations with Edward Cullen as if he were really in the room.

Bella couldn't believe that her brother would think she was crazy enough to entertain delusions like that but she had to admit the truth seemed even less likely. She was forced to end her call with Edward prematurely Thursday night in order to calm Jacob down and give him some sort of explanation for her odd behavior. It killed her to disconnect the phone call when Edward had just told her that he was wet, swimming in his heated pool, wishing she was there with him. Torture. But Jake was seriously concerned. The last thing she wanted to do was let Jake talk to Edward on the phone, he wouldn't be able to recognize the actors voice anyway, so Bella chose to say goodnight to Edward and tell Jacob the truth.

"I told him everything; I hope that doesn't upset you. He'd thought I'd lost my mind because I told him one of my friends had been in a bar fight and then he saw the TMZ article I read online about you. He actually thought I was making up a relationship with you in my head!"

Edward couldn't stop laughing. "So when we were on the phone he thought you were talking to yourself? That is hilarious."

"Yeah, well laugh all you want. I had to tell him about the letters I wrote you, and how I was worried. I told him why you called me that first night. He still didn't believe me until I showed him the pictures you texted me."

"Hmmm. So what does he think now?"

"He thinks it's incredible but he believes me. I threatened to Facebook all his baby pictures if he told a single person that I know you, even our parents."

"Geez, are you really that ashamed of me?" Edward teased.

"Yep. Totally am. It's a good thing we only talk on the phone. I'd be mortified if the paparazzi got pictures of me next to a grown man sporting a black eye."

"Harsh, Bella. That's harsh," Edward responded as he stretched out on his sofa. He didn't understand why but he liked it when she teased him.

"So tell me about your day," Bella said, eager to move their conversation forward. She knew Edward had to make a decision about the EVOL sequel but didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

"I worked out in the home gym, read through one of the other scripts I'd been excited about before _Love Spelled Backwards_ dropped into my lap. Then I watched a few episodes of _Lost_. It's getting really good."

Bella snickered. "What season are you on?"

"I need to watch the last episode of season three and I'll officially be halfway through the series."

"The three finale? That's an awesome episode. Why don't you put it on right now, we can watch it together?" Bella suggested.

"How?"

"Comcast On Demand. It has full seasons of lots of old shows."

"Oh, I didn't realize that," he replied walking over to his flat screen to switch it on. "So are you going to be in your living room then, to watch it On Demand?"

"No, I have to go down to the basement. Mom's watching TV in the living room. The basement's more private anyway. It's kinda like our family room. There are big comfy sofas; mom's elliptical machine is down here, and Jake's old guitar."

"Oh, okay. Let me get set up here. I need to plug in my phone so it doesn't die during the show. And I gotta get the TV on."

"How are _you_ watching it? The DVD's?"

"Yeah, JJ Abrams sent the box set series to me as a gift."

"You're such a name dropper. Tell me when you're ready, slugger."

Edward chuckled and settled down on the sofa in his living room. "I'm ready now. I put you on speaker again."

"Where am I this time?" Bella asked biting her lip.

"On the arm of the couch. Can you hear me?"

"Yep, I can hear you. So how should we do this? Count to three and then hit Play?"

"You mean you don't know? I was led to believe you knew how to synchronize a double feature like this."

Bella laughed. "Nope. I've never done this before with anyone."

There was silence for a moment and then Edward replied, "Then we'll both remember our first time together."

A shudder rippled through Bella's body at the soothing innuendo of his words. It took her a second or two to regain her self control. "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three!"

They watched the opening scene without speaking and it seemed like the show was in sync by the time the LOST logo appeared on their screens. Bella snuggled into the sofa and draped an afghan over her legs. It was fun watching with someone who was new to the show. Bella enjoyed listening to Edward's questions and comments throughout the forty two minute episode. She soon realized that Edward was just as _lost_ as Jack Shephard.

"I still don't understand. What is Charlie doing? Why couldn't he close the door from the other side?"

"I guess because it wouldn't lock on the other side and he wants to save Desmond."

"No, no, Charlie can't die... Not Penny's Boat? What does that mean?" he responded.

Then a few minutes later... "Is Benjamin Linus telling the truth?"

"Does he ever?"

"I'm so confused, Bella."

"Maybe if you stopped talking through all the dialogue you would know what was going on," Bella quipped.

"Or you could just tell me if this Naomi chick is good or bad!"

Bella rolled her eyes. Edward was annoying to watch TV with. She didn't understand why but she loved that she uncovered this little tidbit about him. It made her feel closer to him in some small way, like she was getting to know _who_ he was instead of _what _he was.

"Just shut up and watch, Edward."

"You're mean when you watch _Lost_."

Bella giggled. "Save your questions till the end please. We'll have a round table discussion when it's over."

They continued to comment to one another every few minutes but mostly Bella spent the time thinking about her relationship with Edward and how much it had evolved in the four short weeks they'd been talking. She felt comfortable teasing him now as opposed to their first few calls when she was so frightened of saying something dumb or embarrassing. They had each shared some personal stories with the other and she felt like she could tell him anything and he wouldn't judge her. She felt like his friend. It was a substantial development.

There was an unspoken understanding between Edward and Bella that their relationship wouldn't progress any further than friendship because of their physical separation. Sure they flirted here and there but it never progressed into anything more than that. Bella was convinced Edward Cullen, the world famous actor, could never want her in a romantic way regardless of whether or not she lived in the same state as him or even the same city. She was a normal, Midwestern girl. She was nothing. The pressure was off knowing that she could never be anything more in Edward's eyes than a good friend. She needn't try to make him become enamored with her, nor fear his rejection of her pursuits. The option of a romantic connection was off the table. It was a relief.

Had they been friends that saw one another often, Bella could imagine herself having difficulty remaining platonic for any length of time. She would undoubtedly have embarrassed herself by concocting plans to try and make Edward fall in love with her. Considering that the likelihood of such a plan succeeding was highly improbable under any circumstances she was thankful for the fact that they would never meet.

Bella knew that she did not truly "love" Edward, of course. Renee had taught her in high school the difference between infatuation and love when she started becoming boy crazy. Bella knew she _loved_ Edward the same way she loved pizza, loved the beach, and loved the Texas Rangers. "Pizza love" Renee had called it. The past few years Bella spent with Jessica gushing over their mutual love for Edward Cullen had been nothing more than a harmless infatuation. Pizza Love. What she felt for him now was friendship... and it felt really good.

"Wow," Edward commented as the season three finale ended. "So who's in the coffin? Why do they have to go back?"

Bella smiled as her mind drifted back to the present. "Your mind is blown, right? Now imagine having to wait all freaking summer to find out what happens next season."

"I can't believe they killed off Charlie."

"You knew it was coming. Desmond told him so."

"But there's an unspoken rule in Hollywood. You don't kill off the fan favorites!"

"Edward, you are exhausting me."

"I'm sorry, do you need to go to sleep?"

"No, just chill out with the twenty questions. You are a man in serious need of the Lostpedia."

"The what?"

"Lostpedia. Get with the times, Edward. It's a website that will answer every _Lost_ question you could possibly want answered. But just be really careful. If you look ahead in the series and read the spoiler alerts for Season 4 you'll be kicking yourself later."

"I better not go then. I don't trust myself."

"You're crazy," Bella chuckled to herself. "So what do you have planned for this week? Any fun movie star stuff?"

Edward sat up on his sofa and clicked off the television. "Yeah, actually. I'm meeting with the Universal execs Tuesday."

This was exactly what Bella had been hoping to hear from Edward tonight. "So does that mean you decided what to do about EVOL 2?"

"Yep. I signed their contract yesterday. It'll be a few more weeks before the media finds out so don't say anything to Jessica yet, okay?"

"I'll do my best. She's going to freak."

"Are you freaking out too? Your voice sounds kind of weird."

Bella squealed. "Yes! Okay, I'm losing my cool just a little bit. I'm excited! How do_ you_ feel about it?"

"Better than when we talked Thursday night. There's this other script, the one I read today, that I was really excited about. It was a big part of my problem with doing the sequel, but those producers are willing to wait for me to finish filming EVOL so I won't have to sacrifice that role to play Riley again. I'm really happy that Melissa convinced them to wait for me. Actors lose roles all the time because of scheduling conflicts. Luckily, Universal is moving fast with EVOL so it'll work out."

"What's that movie about?"

"I'll be playing an Iraqi soldier suffering from PTSD. I haven't signed on officially yet but it seems like a done deal from my end."

"That's awesome."

"I'll be busy for a while, that's for sure. That movie is going to start filming in May. EVOL 2, which is going to be called _Tomorrow and Forever_, by the way, is slotted for January through March."

"_Tomorrow and Forever_?"

"It's the title of the book that Victoria reads to Riley in the first movie."

"Yeah, I remember! That's a mouthful too. We're going to have to come up with a clever nickname for it."

"Let me know when your fan group comes to a decision," Edward replied wryly.

"Oh, I will. So what will you do until January?"

Edward laughed. "Sit on my ass. I don't know. This is how work goes. You're incredibly busy for months, working twelve hour days on set, never getting a break. Then when it's over you've got absolutely nothing to do until the next project gets under way."

"You should go visit your parents," Bella suggested.

"I will. I plan to spend the week of Thanksgiving with them in Wisconsin, and probably two weeks at Christmas."

"I'm happy to hear that. When was the last time you spoke to your brother?"

"Emmett has a new girlfriend, so he's been occupied with her. I talked to him maybe a month ago, before the _Zero Gravity_ premiere. He's probably still mad I didn't invite him to it."

"Why didn't you?"

"Partly because I didn't want to sit through the screening with him next to me. I didn't want to watch myself in the movie at all. Emmett's presence would have made me even more self conscious and he likes to tease me. But mostly it's because I would have had to invite him to the after party. You remember how I handled that... if I'd had my older brother with me it would have gone done much worse, trust me."

"You make it seem like Emmett's always to blame for your getting into trouble. From what I've seen you're quite capable of that all by yourself."

"Well, where do you think I learned it from?" he joked. "I wanted to protect him from people like Laurent. I don't want him exposed to Hollywood's culture. When I first moved out here Emmett would talk about joining me. He said he would find a job and we could share an apartment. I told him I didn't want him here."

"I'm starting to understand his resentment."

"Emmett's a follower, he always has been. Whatever stupid thing his friends in high school were doing Emmett joined right in. You know that old phase 'if so and so jumped off a bridge would you too?' My brother would. And did! They all jumped off the County Creek Bridge one summer and he nearly got swept away by the river current."

"I'm sure it hurt his feelings nonetheless that you asked him to stay in Wisconsin. Does he have a job there?"

"Em's a carpenter's apprentice. His new girlfriend is his boss's daughter," Edward laughed without humor. "See? Always getting himself in trouble."

"His boss doesn't know?"

"Nope. Emmett said that his boss told him the first day on the job to keep away from his daughter. Rosalie's a very beautiful girl; she was Miss Wisconsin three years ago. Now she works in public relations in Madison."

"Wow."

"I know I need to patch things up with my brother. I'll have a chance at Thanksgiving to talk to him."

"It'll be good for you to go home for a while, to get some normalcy before you get so busy again," Bella agreed.

Edward sighed. "Hopefully I'll be able to smooth things over. Otherwise it will put a damper on my plans for the summer. I want to take my family on a vacation after I'm done filming the movie about the soldier."

"That's a great idea. Where will you go?"

"I was thinking Milwaukee. It sounds kinda lame for a movie star, right? But my dad won't fly, so that's the issue I'm having. Milwaukee is nice in the summer. I'll get suites at the fanciest hotel. There's a couple beaches there on the lake and a golf course. My dad and Emmett like to golf. I can rent a yacht from the marina for a couple days and my mom would like the art museum."

Bella smiled to herself as she listened to Edward talk excitedly about a family vacation. "I'm sure they'd love it, especially if it meant spending time with you."

"Being separated is hard on all of us, especially my mom. I try to make up for it whenever I can."

"She must be excited to know you'll be home in a few weeks. So will you still call me while you're in Wisconsin?" Bella wondered.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? I told my mom about you already."

"You did?" Bella was genuinely surprised by this information.

"It's different for me; you know... the need for secrecy. There's no risk involved in my telling my family that I've been talking to you. Even if the media did find out somehow that you're my friend, they'd never find you. But if you were to tell Jessica and word spread, it would be easier to track it back to you."

"I know. That's why as much as it kills me I haven't told her anything about you. My parents know I've been talking to a friend in California but I didn't elaborate. Jake knows, of course. But that's it."

"Thank you. I've told you a lot about me that's very personal. Not much of it is flattering."

"I would never betray your trust, Edward," Bella said sincerely. "So, what did you tell Esme about me?"

"I told her that you wrote me an interesting letter and that I called to talk to you one evening. I left out the parts about my drinking and how you saved me from the little white pill. She would have had a stroke. I did tell her how you've helped me overcome my recent loneliness and that we've become friends. I said that you're sweet, kind, funny, and beautiful."

Bella choked on his words. Beautiful?

"What? You don't believe it?" Edward asked responding to her silence. "You _are_ beautiful. You have the face of an angel."

"No one's ever described me that way before. And you only have two pictures to judge from. You can't make a claim like that without ever seeing me in person." Bella scoffed, biting her lip. She worried that her words might provoke Edward to suggest they remedy that situation. She didn't want to encourage those kinds of ideas.

Edward laughed under his breath because he found what she said quite ironic. "You've never seen _me_ in person either. How do you know I'm not hideously unattractive beneath all the camera makeup and airbrushing?"

"Just a hunch," she teased. "Thousands of screaming fans have confirmed your godly magnificence. I trust their judgement."

Edward rolled his eyes as he walked out to the back yard to lie in a lounge chair. "I'll never understand the excitement I invoke from you women."

The way Edward said _you women_ told Bella he was referring to his fan base. "I've been wondering something; does that bother you? That until a month ago I was just like all the rest of them? I'm supposed to be your friend and I'm still, you know, _attracted_ to you."

"Bella, first, I like that you aren't afraid to admit that. And second, I'm used to it. I'm not trying to sound egotistical; it's just something I'm used to dealing with from women."

"Okay, so it doesn't make things weird between us? What about the theory that men and women can't really be friends?"

"You're going _Harry Met Sally_ on me?" he joked. "I suppose sex can sometimes get in the way, but for us it's a non starter. There's a thousand miles between us so sex can't get in the way of our friendship despite our mutual attractions for one another."

"Mutual?" Bella choked.

Edward smiled to himself, amused by the surprise in her voice. "I've already told you that you're a beautiful girl. Does it bother _you_ to have a friend who finds you attractive?"

"It's never happened before."

"I sincerely doubt that. I don't think you see yourself very clearly, sweet Bella."

Bella frowned. She still didn't believe Edward could make such a determination from the photos she'd sent him. "I haven't had a lot of boyfriends," she admitted. "I'm a few years older than the guys in my classes. College boys are immature."

"I suppose that sort of answers one of the more probing questions I've been meaning to ask you."

"What question?"

"When I was describing you to my mother she asked if you had a boyfriend and I know you told me you didn't, but I was wondering why that was?"

Bella thought it was glaringly obvious why she was single. This new friendship with Edward would take some getting used to. They were two friends who essentially lived in each other's phones. He would never be able to know her the way Jacob or Jessica did. Jacob could always tell by her expression whether or not she was lying. Jessica knew the many ways to make Bella blush. She realized she could turn red as a tomato and Edward would never see it, a definite plus to a phone friendship.

"So? What say you?" he pressed.

"Why am I single? Like I said, college boys are idiots. I'm busy with school and my family and just don't need it. I've never even been in love. Have you?"

"Yes, I have."

Now Bella worried if it was possible Edward was currently dating someone. She hadn't seen him in the news with any women recently, but that meant very little. Maybe it was casual or they'd somehow eluded the press. He certainly hadn't mentioned anyone to her. Surely if Edward was close to someone he would have poured his heart out to her these past few weeks instead of Bella.

"So you're seeing someone then? In L.A. I mean?"

Edward stretched out on the lounger and stared at the sun as it began to sink over the Hollywood Hills. "Nope. Dating is impossible right now. Every time I meet my agent for dinner, walk on the street with my health trainer, or buy groceries with Lupe their picture ends up in the pages of some magazine that claims we're dating. It's absurd."

"So when were you in love then?"

Edward sighed; feeling completely relaxed talking about himself with Bella. "High school. We broke up after graduation. She went to college in Ohio. I was gearing up to move to Hollywood. We wanted different lives."

"You sound like there's still feelings there," Bella noticed. She twirled her finger around a strand of hair idly.

"Not really. I haven't talked to her in years. It's more like I miss the feeling of being in a relationship. I've gone out with a lot of women here, I won't lie," Edward chuckled awkwardly. "But there's been no one serious."

"So the rumor about you and that girl from your first movie? Stacey, I think her name was..."

"We were just friends. I never even kissed her. Well, other than while filming the movie. We were friends until _Love Spelled Backwards_ came out and my life got crazy. Stacey got weird about the fame. It was like she wanted to hang out with me more and always suggested public places where I knew the paparazzi would find us. I think she figured I was her ticket to advancing her career."

"That's awful."

"It happens a lot. I'd just rather be alone than get used like that, you know?"

No, Bella did not know anything about the difficulties Edward spoke of, but hearing him describe it gave her more precious insight into his lonely lifestyle.

"I've about given up on the whole institution. Jacob thinks there's something wrong with my brain because no guy's ever held my attention for long. I dated one boy in high school and there was another in college. But then my dad got sick and that ended. Since then I've just preferred to spend my free time with my family. It's not normal, I know that. Jessica goes on dates all the time. Sometimes I go to clubs with her but I haven't been able to find a man who appeals to me."

"Other than me," Edward joked trying to break the tension looming behind Bella's confession.

She laughed nervously and then abruptly changed the topic of conversation. She didn't want to talk any more about her crush on Edward. "So are you going out for Halloween?"

"No. There's a few parties going on but I will be sequestering myself to stay out of trouble per your request."

Bella pouted as she trekked up the stairs to her bedroom. "Now I feel bad for coming down so hard on you. You'll be home alone?"

"I do live alone so it happens often," he sighed. "But Lupe will be here. I'm going to help her make her mama's Paella recipe while her four kids trick-or-treat in my neighborhood. You can score some major candy in these gated communities."

"You have plans to hang out with your housekeeper? That's too cute, Edward."

Edward smirked. "Yeah, Lupe's awesome. She's like a surrogate mother; makes me dinner, cleans the house, does my laundry."

"Spoiled brat," Bella teased.

Her words made Edward laugh. He couldn't deny that she was right in her assessment. "What about you? Are you going out with Jessica?"

"No way. Jess is going to a costume party on campus; it's like an ice breaker kind of social event. Everyone is supposed to dress up as one half of a couple's costume, like Juliet, Cinderella, or Cher. And then when you find your mate at the party the couples are supposed to have their picture taken, dance together, and get to know one another."

"That sounds like fun," Edward hedged knowing it would get Bella riled up if he sided against her.

"Fun? Urgh! It's going to be a room full of blind dates! No thank you."

Edward laughed. He was beginning to see why Bella was still single. Oddly enough, the thought comforted him but he pushed it to the back of his mind to contemplate at a later time. "So what are you going to do instead?"

"I'll be taking Rachel and Rebecca trick-or-treating. It'll be their first time since they couldn't even walk last year. I'm excited."

"I'm sure you'll have fun with them. I bet there would still be time to go out with Jessica afterwards though. When do the babies go to bed, like eight o'clock?"

"Why do you want me to go to that stupid campus party? Do you really think my soul mate is going to be dressed like Sonny Bono?" Bella asked rolling her eyes.

The sun had set so Edward wandered back into his house. He'd left only a few lights on inside and the large dark rooms felt ominous. He headed for the stairs. "Don't go as Cher, that's lame. You could dress up as Lucille Ball and find yourself a Latin lover," Edward joked. He was having fun with her now. "Or Priscilla Presley? Olivia Newton-John? Miss Piggy? I know, you could go as Victoria. Maybe you'll find your Riley Biers there."

Bella bit her bottom lip, struggling not to speak the words on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes involuntarily shifted left towards the _Love Spelled Backwards_ poster on her bedroom wall. She was thinking the words so loudly in her brain she didn't have the strength to keep them inside.

"I've already found someone better than Riley, but he'll be in California that night making Paella."

Edward stumbled up the last two steps, surprised by Bella's insinuation. He wanted to tell her that he would catch the next flight to Texas and escort her to that party himself. But that was impossible for many reasons. Edward could not just show up on a college campus without alerting campus security or hiring a bodyguard. Surrounded by dozens of 18-25 year old women... there would be a stampede once he was recognized. And also the last thing he wanted to do was lead Bella on. He'd made a conscious effort not to flirt too much with her but it was in his nature, and Bella was so much fun to joke around with.

Maybe he'd taken it too far, telling her she was beautiful even though it was the truth. His life was too tumultuous to drag her into it. She had school, a job, and her family in Texas. He was determined to do nothing that would disrupt her life, and that included him taking a single step inside Amarillo city limits. He had to protect her from his hazardous lifestyle no matter what.

"He sounds like a lucky guy to have your affections," Edward finally whispered. "I should let you go, it's getting late."

Bella was a little off put by the sudden end to their conversation. She wondered if her words were ill received. Why had she been so stupid to say something like that? "Okay. Good night, Edward."

"I'll call you again next week. Good night, my angel," he breathed and ended the call.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! Please leave a review!**


	6. Serious Questions

Chapter Six: Serious Questions

The first few weeks of November found Edward's outlook on life much more optimistic than the previous few. He'd successfully avoided hanging out with Laurent again as well as a few of his other actor friends who had invited him to various places. He'd politely declined his friends' offers each time and subsequently hadn't been featured in any gossip magazines since the bar fighting incident. The purple bruises around his left eye had healed, his skin returning to its normal sallow hue. He felt that as the physical reminder of his mistakes faded he was slowly becoming a new person. Edward began to suspect a direct correlation between staying home and staying out of trouble.

Being alone all weekend was difficult at first but he was determined not to let Bella down again. He found that sequestering himself was effective in avoiding the paparazzi but it also meant that Edward spent more time alone than ever before. He compensated by texting Bella occasionally, but made a point not to call her more than once a week. He promised himself not to become dependent on that sweet girl. She had her own life to lead and he didn't want to appear needy.

He also found himself declining female companionship which was a puzzling new development. Edward didn't know why none of the women he met held any interest for him anymore, but he felt something inside him shifting the longer he knew Bella. He'd had to go into the studio a number of times to discuss _Tomorrow and Forever_ with producers and executives and there were lots of attractive young women there. Edward turned down dinner offers from two actresses slated to costar in the film, one costume designer, and even a really cute blonde coffee girl named Ginny. All he ever seemed to want to do was talk to Bella. He couldn't get her words from a few weeks earlier out of his head. _I've already found someone better than Riley... _

The biggest evidence of his new perspective on women was when he saw Katie Owens at Universal studios. Everyone who signed on for _Tomorrow and Forever_ met for a big brunch buffet to get reacquainted and go over production schedules. Edward had greatly enjoyed working with Katie Owens in the first film. She portrayed Victoria and that had them working together in most of their scenes. Katie was young, naive, and stunningly beautiful with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Like Edward, she was virtually unknown in Hollywood until being cast in _Love Spelled Backwards_.

A close friendship developed quickly on set. When media attention became overwhelming they leaned on one another for support. It had been Katie that counseled Edward on his friendship with Stacey and encouraged him to distance himself when it became obvious that his former costar only wanted him for his new fame. When the ridiculous rumors started spreading about Edward having an affair with the director it was Katie who was the first to believe him. Other costars made jokes and crew members watched him like a hawk for weeks, but Katie never doubted Edward's sincerity when he denied the rumors. She was a true friend.

Edward developed a little crush on Katie in real life while she was his leading lady on set, although he never admitted those feelings to anyone. She had a boyfriend and was loyal to him. Conner would come to the set some days and watch Katie as she worked. Edward respected their relationship and did his best to push aside his amorous feelings for her. If Katie noticed how he felt about her she never let it be known. They remained friends until the media madness for _Love Spelled Backwards_ ended and everyone involved in the film went their separate ways.

Katie had really changed in the past two years since Edward first met her. She was so much more confident and energetic than the girl he remembered. Katie had obviously grown into her new skin as a superstar. She had been even busier than Edward in the past year or so by making three films; another romance that flopped at the box office, a cameo in a horror film, and a musical where she got to show the world her amazing vocal talents.

At one of the Universal meetings the reunited pair chatted briefly and compared notes about how the press was treating them while everyone else enjoyed the food and coffee provided by the studio.

"I still get followed by people with cameras pretty much everywhere I go, but the hysteria that revolved around the movie's release has finally died down," Katie said. "What about you?"

Edward scowled, complaining that he had not experienced the same drop off in attention. "They've been all over me. Day and night. It was just starting to let up... and now I guess it's going to happen all over again."

"We can only hope that it does! I think our fans will be thrilled when they hear about the sequel, don't you?"

He forced a smile. "You forget that I have a very different fan base than you. Your fans idolize you; they want to be your friend. My fans chase me down, try to kiss me, and ask me to marry them. Some ask if I'll father their children and then burst into giggles when my eyes bug out and face turns red."

Katie laughed freely. "Females are notorious for being loud, exuberant, and intensely dedicated to heartthrobs like you, Edward. It just means you're doing something right."

Edward quickly remembered what he found attractive about Katie Owens. She was very easygoing and just a fun person to be around. It was very surprising, then, for Edward to realize he didn't feel the same way about her that he once did. Instead he felt the urge to pull his cell phone out and steal a glance at Bella's angelic face.

"How's Conner?" he asked genuinely interested in hearing about her life. He felt guilty for not keeping in touch with her after their movie wrapped.

"We broke up, actually. The bastard cheated on me."

"What? How did I not hear about this? Do you need me to kick his ass for you?"

Katie shook her head and smiled sweetly. "No thank you. From what I've heard about your brawling skills you'd probably walk away with another black eye."

Edward growled quietly. "You heard about that? It was just a misunderstanding."

"I bet. I've kept tabs on you, Edward. I was surprised to find out you were hanging out so much with Laurent. He isn't that good of a guy."

"I'm realizing that. You don't have to worry about me though; I'm turning over a new leaf."

Katie glared at Edward carefully, appraising him. He wanted to tell her all about Bella but held his tongue, not knowing quite how to describe his relationship with Bella Swan. Besides, they would have plenty of time to talk once production got under way.

"I hope you mean that about the partying," she replied. "I have a feeling _Tomorrow and Forever_ is going to create the same kind of media attention we got the last time. It's not a stable environment; life is going to get chaotic for all of us. You need to stay away from people like Laurent."

He smiled and noticed Gavin, their new director, waving people over to the conference table. "I know," he conceded. It pleased Edward to see Katie was still protective of him. "Are you sure I can't punch Conner in the gut for you?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and towed her back towards the other actors and executives.

Overall, Edward felt like the meeting went well. It was nice to see his other costars again too, and he was excited about Gavin's ideas for the film. Edward was finally beginning to feel really good about the project. He'd been given a full script with notes and directions to use in his preparation of the role. There was a little less than eight weeks remaining before production began. His top priorities became learning his lines and hitting the gym. The holidays were coming up quick and then filming was scheduled to begin in early January.

Gavin wanted to amp up the sexuality in the movie. _Love Spelled Backwards_ had focused on developing the characters of Victoria and Riley as they got to know one another. They fell in love in a chaste environment, only consummating their love near the end of the film. This new director wanted the sequel to have more love, more passion, and of course that meant more sex. The film's executive producer patted Edward's stomach as they stood in one of the meeting rooms at the studio and offered to get him a really excellent personal trainer. He wasn't fat, she assured him, just in need of some toning. Edward frowned and thought about his mother's Thanksgiving dinner that awaited him the following week. He was going to have to work his ass off to get in shape by January.

Edward was particularly excited to talk to Bella a few days after that meeting. Despite his efforts to keep things casual, Sunday evenings had become their routine and it was considered precious time together for both of them. Their relationship was never described as anything but friendship by either party, but in Edward's heart he was beginning to feel that change with each passing week.

He routinely cursed the states that separated them; the vast topography that prevented their relationship from becoming anything more than what they currently had. But he had recently figured out another way for them to spend time together. He had sent Bella a present in the mail; it was an idea that came to him while they watched _Lost_ together a few weeks earlier and he was eager to see what she thought of it.

"Hey, Edward," Bella greeted happily at 8pm CST.

"Hey, you. How was your week?"

"Oh, same as usual. School, work, babysitting. Jessica and I hung out Friday night."

Bella was in the kitchen washing the dishes from dinner. She no longer felt the need to hide in her room when she spoke with Edward. Jacob knew the truth and she realized trying to hide her phone calls from her parents would only begin to worry them at some point too. She'd told Renee and Charlie that she was talking to a friend who lived in California. They accepted her explanation without questions.

"Did you happen to get any strange packages in the mail by any chance?" Edward asked.

"That was from you? There was no return address. Charlie assumed Jake ordered it," she chuckled.

"Indeed it was me. Have you set it up yet? I was hoping we could play."

"I don't know how to play Xbox, Edward. I'm a girl."

"I'm aware of that, trust me, but girls play Xbox too. It's easy and I'll teach you. We can play together online and speak through the headsets."

"Alright, I give up. I'll make sure Jacob sets it up for me and teaches me how to turn it on. What made you think of this anyway?"

"I liked watching TV with you, I thought this would be another way we can spend time together."

"You're looking for more ways to spend time with me?" she asked sounding more surprised than she wanted to.

"Of course I am. You have no idea how many times I've wished you lived here so we could hang out. Hollywood really sucks sometimes. It would be nice to have another Midwesterner around."

It was the first time Edward made mention of wanting to see her in person and Bella didn't know what to make of it. She wanted the same thing but knew it was impossible. And for many reasons she chose to let his comment slide without responding to it. She couldn't afford to allow her imagination to wander down that road.

"What's your beef with Hollywood anyway? For someone who lives there you sure act like you despise it," she asked while drying her hands at the kitchen counter.

Edward walked into the home gym in his house and started walking slowly on the treadmill. That morning he'd made a list of things to accomplish before the filming started on _Tomorrow and Forever_. The studio was asking him to take guitar lessons so he'd be able to make it through a song Riley was going to be singing to Victoria. He'd also begun a new fitness regimen that would get him into top physical shape. In his world, women were fat if they weighed more than 110 pounds and men were fat if they didn't have bulging abdominal muscles. The next time the executive producer patted Edward's abs he wanted her to injure her hand.

"Hollywood is made to look glamorous and desirable to outsiders. I fell for it too, the grandness of their wealth and sophistication. But the truth is the smog is disgusting, the highways are crumbling under bumper to bumper traffic, and most of the people that live here are beautiful and ugly in equal measure."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about the cliques you experienced in high school. The most attractive people were always the most popular, right? The homecoming queens, the head cheerleaders, and the stars of the football team. But it was all an illusion."

"Careful, we take high school football pretty seriously here in Texas," Bella warned. "But, yes. I know what you mean. Some of the most popular, attractive people were ugly on the inside. They were never as perfect as they seemed."

"Exactly. Now imagine the most elite among those popular kids all graduating year after year and relocating to one specific city. That's what Hollywood is like; saturated with beautiful people and even among them there are still cliques just like high school. There's always parties happening where only the biggest celebrities are invited. The term A-lister holds big meaning here. Sex, drugs, backstabbing, cheating... it all runs rampant. This is not the City of Angels at all. It's something else, something far more sinister."

Bella didn't know how to respond. She had no idea Edward thought so little of the place he currently called home. "Amarillo," he continued, "now that city has a true angel."

Bella scoffed at his depiction of her but wondered if he truly meant it. "You think much too highly of me."

"I disagree. You've saved me twice already and I think I'm starting to know you rather well."

Bella frowned. "Why do you sound out of breath?"

"I'm jogging on the treadmill."

"For someone with so much time on his hands you sure seem to multitask a lot."

Edward laughed. "Running in place is the most mundane chore imaginable. If I don't do something to distract myself I'll never get in shape."

"You looked pretty damn in shape in _Zero Gravity_."

"It takes a lot of effort to look that good, believe me. We filmed that movie eight months ago, and I've slacked a bit since then. There are four love scenes in _Forever_. I don't want to gross you ladies out when I'm naked on the big screen."

"Trust me, that wouldn't happen." Bella looked over her shoulder to make sure neither of her parents were within ear shot. "How naked are we talking here?"

Edward chuckled. "I'm not sure yet. Sex scenes always get rewrites. But the director wants the sequel to be steamier than EVOL."

"You're getting me excited over here, slugger."

"I'm glad I affect you that way but don't get too excited. Katie has a no nipple clause in her contract. And it's still going to be PG-13 to hit a wider audience."

"That's such crap. Your teenage fans ruin everything," Bella complained... only half kidding.

She was already looking forward to seeing these love scenes Edward mentioned but Bella had to admit to herself that she wasn't particularly thrilled about Edward filming four sexy, naked scenes with Katie Owens. She was a big star now too and so much more beautiful than Bella could ever dream of being. She always envied Edward's costars for getting to make out with him and simulate sex but now she was downright mad that this Katie Owens would be doing things with Edward that Bella only dreamed of. And she wasn't just thinking about the kissing and naked touching. Katie would get to see Edward every day, talk to him face to face, and interact with him in a three dimensional world. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Bella to pretend she didn't want those things with Edward too.

"I agree wholeheartedly about the tweens. What if I promise to make my next film a hard R?" Edward teased.

"Really?"

"No," he chuckled. "There's only so much my mother can handle."

"I don't know if I'd be able to watch you in that kind of movie either. Now that I feel like I know you, it might be weird." She neglected to mention how absurdly jealous she would be watching him roll around completely naked with a beautiful actress; Katie Owens or anyone else.

"What do you mean you only_ feel _like you know me? I assure you that very few people know me better, and that includes much of my family."

Bella smiled wide, unable to suppress her joy. "If you say so, I'll believe it."

"Good. So, I've got another twenty minutes to run. Tell me the story of your day," Edward said through the huffing and puffing of his exertion on the treadmill.

"The story of my day, huh? Well, let's see. I woke up at about eight o'clock, took a shower and got dressed. I made breakfast for my parents and then went to church with my dad. Afterwards we did the grocery shopping together. I came home and studied a little for a test I have tomorrow in my World History class. I spent a little time on Facebook. My mom and I watched last week's episode of Vampire Diaries; that's one of our favorite shows. Dad made dinner and the three of us ate in front of the TV when the Ranger's game came on. That was about an hour ago. I excused myself five minutes before eight so I could talk to you."

"That sounds like a productive and relaxing Sunday."

"Yep. Oh, and I finally got my pictures from Halloween printed. They turned out so good."

"You were planning to take your nieces trick-or-treating. How did that go?"

"Great! Renee found these adorable lamb costumes at Costco so I dressed up as Little Bo Peep and Rachel and Rebecca were my herd of sheep."

"Please tell me you have pictures to send me," Edward said seriously.

Bella blushed. "Actually I do, hold on a second."

Edward waited impatiently until his phone beeped with the incoming message. He rolled his eyes. "Your nieces are adorable, Bella. But, where's the picture of you?"

"I have one but it's kind of embarrassing. I've got the white bonnet, the pink petticoat, even the staff."

"You absolutely have to send me that picture now. Now, woman!"

"Fine, hold on again."

"Don't be shy, petticoats are hot," he encouraged.

Bella cringed as her phone beeped that the outgoing message was delivered. Edward opened the message and very nearly fell off the treadmill. "I was right, petticoats are hot. Damn, Bella."

She was thrilled by his reaction to her picture but too shy to ask what it was he liked. Was it the thigh high white stockings? The loose curled pigtails sticking out of the bonnet? The pink corset? Or the layered petticoat?

"I'm making this my wallpaper," Edward announced.

"I'm glad you like it. Charlie wasn't so thrilled."

"I can't imagine why. You didn't take my advice about that campus party, did you?"

"No. We had fun taking the girls around the neighborhood. Jacob was grumpy though because the babies walked so slow it took us an hour to get around the block. My mom and I started calling him Little Boy Blue because of all his pouting."

"He didn't want to go trick-or-treating?"

"Sometimes I think that he's focused so much on surviving the twins' baby days that he never stops to enjoy them. They're growing so fast and he never seems to want to do the typical new parents stuff like take pictures of them in their Halloween costumes, he didn't save their hair from the first haircut, or come to the park with us for their first ride in a swing. They wouldn't of even have had a first birthday party if it weren't for Renee."

"Guys are different about that kind of stuff, Bella. I don't know your brother, but he's young, and male, and that's not typically the scrap-booking memories kind of person."

"Maybe you're right, but sometimes I think the girls deserve a parent who's enthusiastic about the little kid stuff. It's bad enough they won't have a mother growing up." Bella sighed, contemplating her next words. "I want to tell you something I've never told anyone before."

"Okay," Edward huffed slowing his pace a little.

"Sometimes I wish it had been me that had an unplanned pregnancy and not Jake. Don't get me wrong, Jacob loves his babies. But I know he struggles raising them on his own. He was so young when Leah got pregnant. They were both eighteen and still in high school. They talked about getting married after graduation but in hindsight I'm glad they didn't. I still don't understand how she could just leave her children and Jake all alone. And now he has to work to support them and couldn't go to college like he'd planned. I just think I would have handled it better, I don't know. I've never told Jake or my parents because I feel weird about it. I mean, who wishes they could have gotten knocked up?"

"I think that you have an inherent need to protect the people you love. You want to shoulder everyone else's burdens."

"I know I would have welcomed their births even under Leah's circumstances. She clearly didn't. And I couldn't even begin to imagine our family without these two precious little babies in it, so it makes me wish that it had been me and not Jacob. I hate that these beautiful little girls are going to grow up without a mommy. That's why I offer to babysit as much as I do. I feel like they need a woman's nurturing. Jake still lived here when they were born. He didn't get his own place until they were six months old so I was here helping him to get them to sleep each night and with feedings. I would have been a good mother."

"Why do you say it like you assume you won't still get that opportunity for yourself?"

"I'm not good at dating. I don't know... I just don't think I'll ever meet someone here in Texas."

Edward wondered if there was meaning behind her distinction that she might not meet the right man _in Texas_. Did she have another location in mind, or was he reading too much into her words? "So your nieces were another reason you didn't go back to school after your dad's heart attack, aren't they?"

"When Leah took off someone had to fill her shoes."

"You're the most selfless person I've ever met," he said.

"That's not true," Bella retorted. She walked from the kitchen to the living room and began opening the gift from Edward.

"I just call them as I see them."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm unpacking your video game. Maybe we can play next week."

"Absolutely. I'll be in Wisconsin but that won't be a problem. I can't believe Thanksgiving is in four days."

"When are you flying home?"

"Tuesday morning."

"Can you text me when you land? I'll be worried about you."

Edward hopped off the treadmill and wiped his face with a soft towel. "You will?"

"Of course! I care about you. I've concerned myself with your safety for a long time now. It's the reason I wrote you that letter, remember?"

Edward smiled. "Yes, that's right. My canary yellow letter from America's heartland. How could I forget?"

"Do you still have it?"

"It's on my dresser. I see it every morning," he stated proudly. Edward knew that Bella had no idea how profoundly that letter had altered his life.

Bella pushed the Xbox away from where she sat on the floor. She would definitely need help from her brother making sense of that mess of wires. "So do you have any updates on EVOL 2 to tell me about?"

"Let me think. All the original cast members will be back. There's a few new people too that I met last week. We have rehearsals starting in December and I'll have to get my hair cut right after Christmas. I met the director, finally. He seems cool."

"You have to cut your hair?"

"Yeah, they want it to look the same as the first movie, you know? So I'll have to let the hair and makeup people have their way with me," he grumbled.

"So other than the haircut you seem to be optimistic about the movie now," Bella noted.

"I felt a lot better after the meeting at Universal. Filming the first movie was so much fun; it was an amazing experience and everyone I worked with are good people. I think the media frenzy kinda clouded all those good memories with bad ones. I was just so overwhelmed by it all that I still look back on that time and cringe. Seeing Katie and the other actors at the meeting reminded me what it was like the first time around."

"You and Katie Owens are friends, right?"

"Sort of. We got along great during filming and with all the press stuff, but we lost touch once it was all over. She's really down to Earth and fun. You'd like her."

Bella bristled at his mention of Katie Owens. She knew Katie was single; the girls in the EVOL Facebook group kept tabs on all the stars of the film. She didn't like that the actress had a hand in changing Edward's attitude towards the film but there was little she could do about it. She wondered if the rumors would start flying that Katie and Edward were having chemistry on _and_ off screen?

Bella had been growing increasingly antsy as the weeks passed, because she didn't know how to process her feelings for Edward. Without ever meeting him in person Bella could only conclude that her feelings were an advancement of her infatuation with the actor. As she learned more and more about his personality and private life it was harder to write off her affection as pure celebrity idolization. Her increasing desire to see him in real life was becoming difficult to ignore. But Bella knew it was for the best, to keep her real life separate from her friendship with Edward.

"Can I ask you a serious question, Edward?"

"What do you want to know, Bella?"

"Are you really doing okay now? I mean, whatever drove you to call me that first night doesn't seem to be affecting you any longer. Have you honestly turned things around or do you still struggle dealing with your life when we're off the phone?"

Edward walked past his bedroom and opened the door to one of the guest rooms. He rarely ventured into any of the three additional bedrooms the house featured. Apart from a few times Laurent or other friends had crashed there Edward had no use for them. He glanced around at the white walls and elegant furnishings and realized he hadn't made a single change to the room since moving into the house. The space was wasted, like much of the too large house Edward still didn't feel at home inside.

"I promised you that first night that I'd never lie to you. I told you that I wasn't an alcoholic or drug user and that was the truth. I was having a hard time dealing with the pressure of my high profile life so, _no_, that stress isn't gone. Putting _Zero Gravity_ behind me was a big step though. I hated everything about that project. Then there was the stress of figuring out what direction to go from there. Now that my next two films have been decided a little of that pressure is off me. But mostly I feel different because I have a new perspective on all of that stuff that I didn't before. Connecting with you out in the real world has made a big difference."

"You can't possibly credit me with the complete turnaround of your behavior. Have you really quit the partying and drinking? How could it be that easy?"

Edward smiled and walked through the empty guest room to look out the window. "You're like a beautiful little angel sitting on my shoulder. I think about what you would say to me every time I'm faced with a decision. I've barely seen my L.A. friends since I met you because I don't think you'd approve," he chuckled.

"You never talk about them, except for Laurent. Don't you miss hanging out with them?"

"I do miss the nightlife. One appealing quality of Los Angeles is there are so many good restaurants and clubs here. This house is huge and empty; I hate being here alone. But I wouldn't call those people I went out with _friends_. They don't care about me like you do."

"I really do. Care about you, I mean. I hope you know that," Bella replied curled up in her bed staring at the picture of Edward in her room; not the _Love Spelled Backwards_ poster, but the first picture he texted her that she had printed and now sat on the nightstand. Her only picture of the real Edward.

"I do know," he whispered. "So the answer to your question is yes, I really am okay. There's only one thing that's been eating at me lately."

"What's that?"

"Well... I need to tell you one more thing about _Tomorrow and Forever._ I'm not sure how you'll feel about it."

"So what is it?" Bella asked warily.

"The decision's been made that filming will take place in Los Angeles... and Louisiana."

"Louisiana?" Bella squeaked. She was surprised to hear Edward would soon be so close to her. Gee, just one state away...

"Yeah. They have excellent tax laws about filming in Louisiana. A lot of studios try to schedule stuff there whenever possible. It's the reason _Duck Dynasty_ got made."

"Do you know what city you'll be near?" Bella asked dazed by the news.

"I don't know. They're picking a college campus so it depends on that location."

"So what is it that's been eating at you?"

Edward laughed to himself, finding it amusing that he was suddenly nervous. His arms were covered in goose bumps. "Would you want me to visit you? When I'm in Louisiana? I've already checked flights and Amarillo is like two and a half hours from Shreveport..."

Bella was quiet for a moment. Her heart was pounding and her palms began to sweat. She wondered if she were to refuse Edward, how long it might be before he suggested that they get together again. Would he ever bring it up a second time if she told him no? As thrilling as his prospect seemed, Bella knew that it would be a short visit and seeing him for real would only make the subsequent separation that much more difficult.

"Is it okay if I don't decide right now, Edward? It's not that I don't want to see you, meet you, or whatever. I'm just afraid that actually being with you would be... too much for me to bear. I know we're just friends but if you come here I can't guarantee that when it's time for you to leave that I wouldn't be sending my heart away with you. Do you know what I'm trying to say?"

"Yeah, I understand what you mean," he replied quickly sounding defensive. Bella didn't know if Edward completely understood how she felt but his disappointment was obvious.

"I'm not saying never, just not right now."

It was such a tempting offer because if he came to visit her Bella thought she could finally be able to put to rest the incessant need to associate a real face to his voice. But any visit, no matter how long he stayed, would end the same way. Edward's world was so overwhelming and different than hers. He would eventually have to leave when filming wrapped, return to his life in Los Angeles and where would that leave Bella? With a gaping hole in her chest, that's where. She knew she couldn't bear to have him officially enter her world only to be plucked out of it a month later.

"It wouldn't be until February."

She smiled, hearing the hopefulness in his voice. "Okay, then can we talk about it again after Christmas? Maybe when you get your production schedule?" she asked.

Edward sighed and again he cursed the states that separated them. He wished that he could see Bella in person, even just once. But he'd hate to lead this sweet innocent girl on, knowing that he could never be good enough for her. Bella's lifestyle was completely different than the one he lived and he didn't see any way to mesh them together. Bella had a family and an education to focus on. Edward couldn't leave his home without a baseball cap and sunglasses unless he wanted to be mobbed by fans. He didn't want to drag her into that kind of life.

"I won't mention it again until I know when I'll be there and what my schedule will be like. I might be so busy that I won't have a few days to take off anyway."

"Okay."

"Can I ask you a serious question now?"

Bella grimaced. "Sure."

"You said you were worried that if we met it might result in you getting hurt, but have you considered the alternative? Are you at all worried that if we met you might be disappointed?"

"Disappointed? No, Edward. How could you think that?"

"The image of Edward Cullen that's been created by the movie magic and the news media are some big shoes to fill."

"The real you is already so much better than the image I had in my head a few months ago. There hasn't been one thing you've said to me that's been disappointing. I'm honestly only worried about falling... about our friendship changing and winding up getting hurt."

"So you don't trust me to be mindful of your feelings? What is it you think I'd do to you, Bella? All I want is to look into the eyes of the person who's quickly becoming my best friend."

"Edward," she whispered. "It's _me_ who I don't trust, _my_ heart, not yours."

Edward sighed. He knew that she was right, that they would be wise not to push the boundaries of their friendship so things didn't get complicated. More than anything, Edward needed to keep Bella in his life in whatever capacity he could.

"We can talk about my visit again when I know when I'll be out your way. Let's just leave it at _someday_ for now."

"Okay. Someday."

"I should go take a shower. I'm all sweaty from the treadmill. You, missy, have a mission to complete before next Sunday," Edward said trying to recover from the feelings that suddenly overwhelmed him.

"I do?"

"The Xbox! Make it happen. I'll talk to you next week."

"I promise I will. Good night, Edward."

"Good night, Angel."


	7. Wisconsin

Chapter 7: Wisconsin

The days and weeks of November and December seemed to pass quickly as they usually do during the holiday season. Bella cooked Thanksgiving dinner with her father and enjoyed the company of her extended family. Renee's parents flew in from Phoenix and Charlie's father was over too. Rachel and Rebecca were the stars of the show, bringing smiles to all their great grandparents' faces. Bella was happy surrounded by the people she loved, and often thought about Edward, hoping he was experiencing similar good times. December was spent shopping with Renee. Oh, the endless shopping. Every weekend they bought and wrapped presents and by Christmas morning Bella was burned out. Again, the family got together and celebrated the holiday at the Swan residence.

Edward had flown to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving but only had four days with his family. Rehearsals for _Tomorrow and Forever_ were waiting for him when he returned to L.A. the following Monday. He spent the month of December at the studio and the gym preparing for the filming that would begin the first full week of January. Time moved quickly for him as well, days and nights blending together, and before he knew what happened it was Christmas. Edward had ten days to spend with his parents and brother between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. He had a flight booked for Dec 31st to take him back to California where he had plans to ring in the New Year with Katie Owens and a few other _Forever_ cast members in Palm Springs. By the time the plane touched down in Madison on Christmas Eve, Edward was in serious need of his family.

It had been a tough year for him and he was looking forward to just being home, sleeping in his own bedroom, and spending time with his mom, dad, and brother. Edward took the opportunity of being in town to reconnect with Emmett. They talked mostly about Emmett's job, his relationship with Rosalie, and reminiscing about good times growing up. He was careful not to talk about his job or anything else Hollywood related while he was home unless someone asked him something specific. His parents wanted to hear about the new project he was working on and how he was making out with the paparazzi. Rosalie grilled him a little on what Hollywood was like and which famous people he'd met and hung out with. Other than that Edward felt like he was just one of the Cullen clan again.

Edward kept his routine of calling Bella on Sundays alive just as he'd promised. They never missed a week, even the times he was home in Wisconsin. They also found a few opportunities to play Xbox Live. Bella was not exactly fond of the first person shooting games and shrieked quite often when her character got shot. Edward found that so amusing that a few times he unleashed a little friendly fire on her avatar.

"You are such a jerk, Edward!" she whined into her headset one night after Edward took her out on purpose. "I hate it when my screen gets covered in blood! It's so gross."

Edward just laughed and it made her angry. She was only indulging him in this time-sucking hobby because he seemed to enjoy it so much. And also because she refused to pass up any opportunity to talk to him more than their weekly scheduled call. Bella was officially, one hundred percent addicted to Edward Cullen. The sound of his laughter dulled her anger and she hit the start button so they could play another round.

"Hungry for more, Angel?" Edward teased when he noticed she had restarted their game.

"Who are you talking to?" Emmett asked, materializing behind his little brother at the door to the family room.

Edward turned off his microphone momentarily to say, "Just a friend. We were in the middle of a game, Em. What do you want?"

"I heard you talking to yourself in here so I came to investigate. Do you call all your friends A_ngel_?" Emmett chuckled. He walked further into the room and sat on the opposite end of the old sofa. Emmett noticed the strange expression on Edward's face and shrugged. "What? Can't I play too? I kill at this game."

"Pun intended?" they heard Bella say through her headset.

Emmett smiled and helped himself to a controller and headset. "Hello, Angel. This is Emmett online. AKA the Pulverizer. Who may I ask am I speaking to?" He tilted his head in Edward's direction, his black curls falling over his forehead, and winked.

"Hi Emmett, this is Bella. Are you going to play with us?"

Edward rolled his eyes and his older brother chose to take that as an invitation to join their game. "I most certainly am."

"Excellent."

Edward sighed under his breath, not happy about having to share his time with Bella with his older brother. But he was striving to make amends with Emmett so he reluctantly began setting up the game play for a third participant.

"So Bella, that's a pretty name. Are you an actress? Would I have seen you in anything?" Emmett asked conversationally. Edward thought he sounded a little too flirtatious for a man with a girlfriend.

"No! I'm not an actress. Just a friend of Edward's. Hey Edward?"

"I'm here, Bella. Are you sure you want Em playing with us?"

"I surely do. Can you put Emmett on my team? I need the backup."

Bella heard Emmett laugh in the background behind Edward's grumbling. "Emmett, can you do me a favor and protect me from your idiot brother? He keeps firing at me just so I'll scream."

"You can count on me, Miss Bella. So if you're not an actress where did you meet Squirt?"

Edward reached across the sofa and smacked Emmett hard on the bicep. He hated that nickname and Emmett knew it. It had the desired effect, though, as Bella laughed out loud. "Why do you call him Squirt?"

"I hate you," Edward mouthed to his brother. This was exactly the kind of behavior that prompted him to ban his older brother from all of Los Angeles.

Emmett grinned and pushed the button on the side of the sofa to release the footrest. "He didn't hit puberty until fourteen. He was the shortest guy in his class until junior year and got cut from the soccer team and baseball team every year."

Emmett and Bella laughed together at Edward's expense. "That's not even true. Don't listen to him, Bella. I made the baseball team junior year."

"Oh, that's right. And you were in the school play too. They made you audition for the girl's parts, didn't they Squirt?"

"Quit making stuff up, fucktard!"

"Edward!"

"Sorry, Bella," he said quietly, still angry at Emmett for intentionally trying to tick him off.

"It's okay. We shouldn't be laughing at you. Let's just play okay?"

"Fine."

"Good. But no one shoot me!"

"Okay. I'll play nice. _This_ time," Edward replied.

Emmett chuckled under his breath. This young woman seemed to have his little brother wrapped around her finger. "So, you never answered my question, Bella. Where did you meet, _Edward?_" he asked putting emphasis on his use of Edward's name.

"Um..."

"It's none of your business," Edward answered quickly.

"Are you two dating?"

"I live in Texas," Bella replied carefully avoiding the question Emmett asked.

Emmett stared at his brother's blank face for a moment before turning his attention to the flat screen on the wall. "Okay, then... Let's kill some zombies, shall we?"

Edward murmured "thank God" and began the mission.

Emmett thought it was highly suspicious that neither one of them would give him a straight answer. But he kept his mouth shut and played the game. Bella was terrible at video games and she was dragging his mission down but he didn't complain. He knew how much button pushing Edward could tolerate and he figured it might not be wise to tease his mystery girl. As they played Emmett watched his brother interact with Bella. Edward seemed carefree and happy once he got over the embarrassment of his childhood nickname being revealed. They seemed very close for two people who lived so far apart, which Emmett found especially curious since he didn't know how long Edward has had this female friend that he knew nothing about. Where did they possibly meet? He was fairly certain there were no girls named Bella in Edward's graduating class. What was she doing down in Texas anyway? So many unanswered questions.

"Ah! Darn it!" Bella exclaimed after getting killed for the fourth time in about twenty minutes. "I am so done. Can we please just watch _Lost _now?"

Edward laughed. "I thought you wanted me to get caught up on _The Walking Dead_?"

"Urgh. I've had enough zombies for a while. I vote for the smoke monster tonight."

"What are you guys talking about?" Emmett asked, tossing his controller onto the coffee table.

"Tell me Emmett, have you watched _Lost_ and _Walking Dead_ or are you as socially deprived as your brother?" Bella asked.

"Oh, so you're on a mission to get Edward caught up, huh? I've seen them both; but Edward missed out on most TV shows when we were in high school. He was either doing homework or playing his piano."

"You say it like those activities were a waste of time," Edward quipped. "I did homework at night because I was at school in the afternoons with the drama club and the baseball team."

Emmett snickered. "Yeah, warming the bench!"

"Boys..." Bella scolded them.

She had been happy when Emmett asked to join their game, wanting Edward to take the opportunity to bond a little with his brother but they were both relatively quiet as they played. Now they were on the verge of another argument. She knew Edward missed the close relationship they had before he became famous and it was one of her goals to get them on good terms again. She just didn't have a clue how to do it.

"It's okay, Bella. I should really go anyway. I want to spend a little time with my mom and dad tonight before they go to bed. I fly back to L.A. tomorrow," Edward explained.

"Oh, okay. Enjoy your time with them. And hey, text me when you land at LAX so I know you got there safe."

"You know I will. Good night, Bella."

"Night night, slugger."

Edward took off his headset and pressed the power button on the Xbox console. When he glanced up he saw Emmett was watching him intently. "What?" he asked flippantly.

Emmett knew that this would be his last chance to talk to Edward before he left for California and there was no telling how long it would be before they were in the same place at the same time again. They both had spent the past week making strides towards a reconciliation of sorts, but it was difficult for Emmett to admit any amount of jealously for the amazing life Edward had created for himself. Emmett worked his ass off for twenty five dollars an hour and went home sweaty, dirty, and his muscles aching every day. He was envious of Edward's exciting career, the stardom, and his money, but was trying very hard to put all that past him so when he looked at Edward he could just see his little brother again.

"I'm sorry I teased you in front of your girl," he offered.

Edward sighed and leaned back against the sofa. "She's not my girl, just a friend."

They were both silent for a minute, the humming of the television screen the only noise in the room. Edward also understood that this was their last conversation before he left. His flight jetted off first thing the next morning, likely long before Emmett would wake up. He wished he knew what could be said to fix things with his brother. They had made some progress over the holidays but something still felt off between them.

"Why aren't you dating her? She sounded hot."

"Bella's beautiful," Edward agreed. "She's got dark hair, dark brown eyes, and she has this innocence about her that is just so fucking adorable."

"So what's the problem? I mean, yeah, she lives in Texas but you can afford to fly her out to LA every weekend if you wanted to."

"It's not that simple, Em. My life is so public that I have no privacy whatsoever. And with this new movie it will get worse before it gets better. I couldn't take Bella out on a date or to the movies like a normal person. If the paparazzi found out who she was, and they undoubtedly would sooner or later, she wouldn't be able to live a normal life anymore. I can't do that to her or her family."

"But you really like her," Emmett stated.

Edward nodded. "More and more the longer we talk." He pulled out his cell phone to show Emmett a picture of Bella, the one of her in the Tweety Bird tank top. Emmett leaned closer and took a look at Edward's phone, then whistled long and high pitched in appreciation.

"Yep, she's hot, little bro. I say go for it, even if the pap do follow you guys around. What does she think about it? Maybe she would be willing to deal with all that," Emmett said.

Edward huffed. "I asked to go visit her while I'm down filming in her area and she said no. She says she just wants to be friends, even though we both know that's not the truth, she says it's better if we remain friends. I have to respect her wishes."

Edward looked at his brother and saw a hint of sympathy in his eyes. "You have no idea how much I feel tortured by this. I trust Bella completely, and it's hard trusting people in L.A. That's the only thing I like about her living in Texas. She hasn't been corrupted by the Los Angeles culture. I know you hate hearing me complain about Hollywood but it's not all fun and parties for me. There's a lot of loneliness too. I can't trust people because some try to use me for my fame and others do it for my money. Every time I meet a girl I have to worry about her motives and if she can really even sees me as a real person and not just a movie star. I can't leave the house without being hounded by paparazzi. Most of the time if I'm not working I just stay in that big house all by myself and do nothing. It's very isolating."

"What about your friends? Like that Laurent guy, or the people you introduced me to that _one_ time I was allowed to visit," Emmett said sarcastically.

"I try not to talk to them anymore. They're not good for me. I was in a bad place a few months ago, really depressed and feeling sorry for myself. Bad things were bound to happen, going out and partying the way I was doing."

"What kind of things?" Emmett asked more seriously.

"I'd get carried away when I was out with those guys, Laurent especially. I'd get drunk and disorderly in front of the cameras. I got in a bar fight. And then Laurent... well, he offered me something that wasn't exactly legal."

"Oh?"

"Thankfully Bella was there. Well, not physically there, but she talked me off the cliff, so to speak. I've been meaning to tell you that I'm sorry I haven't asked you come back to visit me, bro. Really. But I wanted to keep you away from them. It wasn't just about you being an embarrassment," Edward said with a teasing tone.

Emmett faked a shocked expression. "Who, me? What did I do?"

"When we went out to that club you told every actress there, including Katie Owens, that your shoe size was bigger than mine and you'd be happy to show them what else was bigger."

Emmett laughed, remembering. "Come on, dude. Lighten up. Katie knew I was joking."

"Still, you were hitting on her when she had a boyfriend."

"Had?"

"Yeah, they broke up a few months ago."

"Oh gotcha. So you're gonna start hooking up with her when the movie starts filming?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

The only answer Edward could think of was Bella. There had been a time not so long ago when he would have thoroughly considered that option. "Because we have a professional relationship. I don't think it's a good idea to get involved with costars."

"I think your problem is you need a girl, little brother, be it Katie, Bella, or someone else. You need a trustworthy companion. Hey, maybe you should invite me back for a little while. Rosie would love to see California. And then you and I could be like River and Joaquin Phoenix!"

"River Phoenix died of a drug overdose, Em."

"Okay, it would be a little different than that. It would still be fun to be together."

Edward smiled. "What would you do out there, construction work?"

"Well, I'm definitely not an actor. Hey, maybe I could be your bodyguard?"

"No. You're built for it, but I couldn't ask you to protect me like that. I'd be worried about you getting hurt."

"Hurt by who? Your crazy little female fans?" Emmett scoffed.

"Don't underestimate them, dude. The littlest ones are sometimes the most dangerous. And speaking of fans... I never told you where Bella and I met."

Emmett's eyes widened, waiting for Edward's enlightenment. Edward smiled wide, enjoying the suspense a little too much. "She wrote me a letter. She's a fan."

"Shut the fuck up!" Emmett replied.

Edward shook his head. "I'm serious. She wrote me a letter, and basically chewed me out for all the partying I was doing. I was so taken aback by her brashness I saved the letter. Then the next day I sort of hit rock bottom... I had to decide whether I was willing to slip into the darkness or try to find my way back to the light. And there was Bella's letter, written on blindingly bright yellow stationary, guiding me like my own personal sun. Her phone number was on the letter, so instead of taking the pill Laurent gave me I called Bella."

"You almost started taking drugs?"

"One pill, one time," Edward corrected. "But yes."

"And Bella stopped you? Over the phone?"

"Yes."

"Damn. What was it like when you met her? Did she go crazy fangirl on you? It must be awesome to fuck someone who's that obsessed with you. I bet she let you do some crazy shit, right?"

Edward suddenly became a little defensive. He wanted to share his story with Emmett but didn't appreciate the way he was speaking about Bella. She deserved far more respect than that. "I didn't fuck her, and don't talk about her like that! She hasn't gone crazy on me at all, but I am a little worried that she still might... whenever it is that we actually meet."

"Say that again?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "You heard me, dip shit. Bella and I have never actually met. I told you I offered to go to Texas and she told me not to come."

"So how do you know you like her so much?"

"Because we've spent hours talking to one another on the phone for the past three months."

"How do you know that picture is even her?"

Edward rolled his eyes and then thought for a second. "I just know, Em."

"You need to fight for her. If she isn't dating anyone else and you feel so strongly about her, then you need to prove it to her. I can see she means a lot to you. If she makes you happy then you have to try harder to make it work."

"She doesn't want to try. Even though I know she has feelings for me she likes her life in Texas too. She's a sweet girl; she doesn't belong in L.A. and I can't live anywhere else right now. So she's right that we're better off friends."

Emmett stared at his younger sibling wondering how anyone so attractive to the opposite sex could be so self conscious. "Edward, that girl is nuts about you. She played video games, fighting off a zombie invasion just to spend time with you. You have adorably sickening nicknames for each other. She's worried about you flying across the country. And she's a fan so she's obviously attracted to you. Trust me, she wants you as much as you want her."

"Do you think I should ask to visit her again when I'm filming _Tomorrow and Forever_ in Louisiana in February?"

"Hell yes. And if she says no, just show up there anyway."

Edward grimaced. "Should I really be taking advice from a guy who's sneaking around with his boss' daughter?"

"I haven't gotten caught yet," Emmett said smirking.

The brothers sat on the sofa together talking for a while longer. Just when Edward was going to call it a night his cell phone buzzed with a text message.

"Is that Bella," Emmett asked.

Edward checked his phone. "Nah, it's Katie Owens. She's changing the location of her New Year's Eve party tomorrow night because TMZ found out where we were planning to go. Ever since the studio announced the _Love Spelled Backwards_ sequel the paparazzi have been all over me and Katie again."

"So where'd she move it to?"

"We were supposed to go to this new club in Palm Springs. She booked a private room for forty people. Now she says it's going to be at her parent's vacation home in Newport."

"Still sounds like fun to me," Emmett said.

Edward smiled at his brother. "Why don't you ask Rosalie about coming to visit me in April? I have the whole month off in between movies. I might have a few meetings and rehearsals but there'd definitely be time to show you guys around."

"Yeah, man. That would be awesome. Thanks."

"I better get some sleep. My flight leaves at 9 o'clock tomorrow and I still have to call Stanley and let him know about the change of venue for tomorrow night."

"Sure thing, little bro. And hey, maybe by April things will have worked out for you and Bella. You could fly her out to L.A. too. I'd love to meet her."

Edward scratched the back of his neck and smiled. "Yeah, man. I don't know. We'll see how things go in February."

At the same time Edward was speaking about Bella with his brother, Bella was doing the same about him with her mother. Renee Swan had caught the end of her daughter's conversation with the faceless new friend that had put a spring in her step the past few months. She'd noticed a real change in her daughter recently and was convinced this boy in California had something to do with it.

"Bella, since when do you play violent video games and flirt with boys over the internet?" she asked that night after Bella turned off the Xbox console and sank happily into the sofa cushions.

"What?" Bella replied, surprised to find her mother behind her with a knowing grin on her face. "Sorry, I didn't know you were there."

Renee stirred sugar into the cup of tea she just made herself and leaned against the kitchen island that faced the living room. "I was being quiet so I wouldn't disturb you. Who were you talkin' to there?"

"Oh, um, Ed. My friend from California," Bella answered, blushing as she walked over to the kitchen and sat on one of the stools at the island.

Renee had already known that before she asked the question, but it was good to know Bella was being honest with her. She sometimes felt like Bella didn't exactly like talking to her mother about boys and didn't know why. She worried though, that Bella didn't value her advice because of some choices she'd made in her life where men were concerned.

"It seems to me that you might like this young man, am I right?"

Bella smiled. "Can I have a cup of tea too?" Renee nodded and busied herself preparing another mug. "I like him a lot, but we've agreed to just be friends. It would be too hard to have a long distance relationship."

"That's not necessarily true. Circumstances can change," Renee argued.

"Maybe, but I've never even met him in person so I can't really trust what I'm feeling. All we've ever done is talk on the phone."

"Your grandparents fell in love through the letters they wrote each other while PopPop was in the service. I'd say the telephone is a step up from snail mail, don't you think?"

Bella smiled, remembering how much her grandparents loved each other, right up until her grandmother passed away. "Love like theirs is rare, I think. Ed and I have very different lives. Even if we did fall in love somehow he couldn't move here. And I don't want to move away. So friendship is all we can offer each other."

"It's been a while since you've felt like that about a boy, Bella. Don't be so dismissive of it," Renee said taking a sip of her tea.

Bella sighed. "We haven't talked about how we feel about each other. We're becoming very close, but that doesn't mean he has romantic feelings for me."

"Does he know you have a date tomorrow night?"

"No, I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell him. It's not really even a date, mom. We're just tagging along with Jessica and Max on their date."

"It's New Years Eve, sweetie. I'm thinking this boy will try to kiss you at midnight."

Bella scrunched up her nose involuntarily. She hadn't considered that possibility. Damn Jessica and her constant peer pressure!

"You should tell Ed about your date, Bella, trust me. Sometimes a boy needs to feel a little jealousy to make him realize how much he actually cares about you."

"Well, he did say he wants to come visit me in February, but I told him I had to think about it," Bella admitted.

"You won't let him come visit you? Why in Heaven's name not?"

"What difference is three or four days going to make, mom? Ed lives in California. He needs to be there and I need to be here. I don't see the point in putting ourselves through emotional hell when the logistics just don't work."

"Logistics my ass. Geography didn't keep me from your father. We'd only known each other a few days and that was all I needed. After that time I knew I would do whatever it took to be with that man."

Bella glared at her mother with an expression Renee recognized very well. "Don't you even think about calling me flighty, Isabella Swan," her mother teased wagging her index finger at her daughter. "Why does this entire family think I am such a spaz?" Renee huffed. "All I'm saying is that you can go to college anywhere. I'd hate to see you go, but if you had to you could live in California for a little while, finish your degree out there. It's not as impossible as you're making it sound."

Bella smiled at her mother and drank her tea. If only Renee knew what she was trying to push Bella into doing! Dating a famous movie star? She didn't see any possible way for that to work. Cameras flashing in her face? Red carpets? Los Angeles? Bella shook her head. No, even if Edward did feel the same way about her as she was beginning to feel for him, that was not the life for her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Merry Christmas everyone! Please leave a review!**


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